Learning to Love
by Kago of the Funk
Summary: This story was adopted from Lerryn. Maho sticks out like a sore thumb from her peers, but she won't let that stop her from her dream:to become a shinobi who is remembered for all eternity for her good deeds. But what happens when she teams up with Sasuke, the one person she can't stand more than the fan-girls that follow after him?
1. Enter Igashowa Maho

**Hey guys! For all of you who don't already know, I adopted this story from the very generous Lerryn! I have made some minor changes [such as the main character's name] but besides that, nothing else has really changed. ^~^ I'm excited to see what you guys think, because I'm excited to see how this story turns out! Usually I plan it all out, but I'm going to be spontaneous with this story and just see where it takes me. I hope everyone enjoys it!**

**3 Kago of the Funk**

_Enter Maho Igashowa_

One girl walked alone down the streets of Konoha. Her light green eyes squinting in the sunlight, making the black eye-liner around her eyes look thicker, bright orange hair falling down her back, ending at her elbows, slowly swaying side to side as she walked; her bangs were braided together at the right side of her forehead and tucked behind her left ear, black sandals which came up to her mid-calf gathering dust behind her as she took each step. She wore what she wore everyday a black combat skirt with fish-net shorts underneath and a bandage wrapped around her right leg and a black tube-top that stopped at her waist where the skirt began. Over the top of this was a black pull-over with elbow length sleeves; two orange stripes ran from the back, around her shoulders, the whole thing stopped just below her chest, a simple fingerless fish-net glove on her left hand. This was Igashowa Maho. Everyday she suffered the same abuse from the other girls, but she didn't mind; she liked her orange hair; it made her stand out from the crowd. It made her different. Nobody at school seemed to really like her apart from Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji; of course they were all boys so they didn't find what she looked like important, none of the other girls liked Maho as she didn't have a crazy fan-girl obsession over one certain boy. In fact she _hated_ this certain boy. Everywhere she went _somebody_ would be talking about him, it made her sick to her stomach. _'Yeah so he's had a rough past, he needs to grow up and get over it' _that may have sounded harsh to other people, but it's what she thought. Maho could understand almost _all _of Sasuke's pain; she'd experienced losing her parents, but she didn't dwell on the past. She'd learnt to suck it up and move on and she thought this was exactly what that _boy _needed to do. Hyuuga Hinata was the only one out of the girls that liked Maho and that was because she too didn't have a crazy fan-girl obsession over Sasuke. No, instead she had a crazy fan-girl obsession over Uzumaki Naruto. Maho realised she'd never really spoken to this boy before, he'd sit in the row in front of her everyday at school, but he just seemed to blend in; apart from when he would mess up on jutsu's and everyone would laugh at him. Hinata and Maho found this cruel and would usually be the two to tell everybody to shut up. Then afterwards Naruto would give the two a warm and thankful smile which Maho returned, even though it would be quickly forgotten among other things in her mind. This was the place that Igashowa Maho was headed now; Konoha Ninja Academy. She didn't mind school, apart from the teasing she actually found it interesting and enjoyed being praised by Iruka-sensei when she managed to maintain chakra or perform a jutsu; she didn't get complimented much anymore. She had reached school now and had been rudely pulled out of her day-dream; which was overcoming the realization she was late. Maho was ready to be yelled at as soon as she walked into the classroom; she was late today because as she was walking down a back alley to avoid a gang of girls who usually picked on her, she got caught in the middle of two drunken men fighting. She escaped from the men and the alley, only then to realize she had been accidently hit a few times; now there was a purple bruise occupying her cheek, she knew because as she touched her cheek to check for scratches a throbbing pain hit her. She also saw the bruises on her arms and the scratches too. _'Great how am I going to explain this to Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji, they'll get all worried…Iruka-sensei too…'_ She pushed open the two big doors to the academy and walked down the hall until she saw the other door for her classroom. She slowly approached it and cautiously put her hand on the handle _'Cue screaming in three…'_ she grasped the handle _'two…'_ she began to slide the door _'one!'_ the door was fully open and she had stepped inside the classroom.

"Igashowa Maho, where do you think you've…been…?" Iruka had begun to scream at Maho only to turn around and see the bruises and scratches making his voice soften and slowly stop.

"Maho…"

"I'm fine Iruka-sensei, gomenasai for interrupting,"

"Make sure you stay behind after to catch up, I need a word as well." She simply grabbed her bruised arm which had started throbbing and made her way to the third bench and took her seat next to Hinata who had a worried look. She noticed Kiba and Shikamaru had that same look as well, Chouji of course was eating. She gave them a reassuring smile and mouthed 'no-biggy' to each of them, then looked to the front to try and catch up on Iruka's lecture. Even though her arms were throbbing she managed to cross them on the desk and place her face in her arms. She made a loud sigh and then lifted her head up so her chin was resting in her crossed arms and she could see the front of the class-room. '_This is going to be a long day; oh Naruto's looking at me, never notice.' _She waved to him and smiled, he then smiled back and got yelled at for facing the other way. He then turned back to the front, Maho could hear Sakura and Ino snickering to her right and turning, she simply gave them death glares and they stopped, but not before mouthing 'whatever orange head!' Sighing once again, Maho tried to refocus on Iruka, only to hear movement behind her. Kiba had now stood up and slammed his hands on the desk, he was clenching his teeth with his fangs showing and slightly growling at Ino and Sakura.

"That's enough! Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba, Uzumaki Naruto and Igashowa Maho, you five will all stay behind during lunch-break," All five groaned at Iruka and then turned to the front again, Maho slightly giggling at Kiba who smiled. As she turned around, she noticed Sasuke who was sitting in the front, had quickly turned around to view the commotion. He was looking directly at _her _though. They both caught each other's eyes for a second before returning them to their sensei. _'What's his problem?'_

"As you know tomorrow is your last day at Konoha ninja academy, you will all be taking your exam tomorrow to gain your head-band, and then when you do you will go onto to be put into groups the day after. If you fail this exam you will repeat your last year of school again!"

"Oh boy," Naruto piped up from in front of her, and then Maho turned to Hinata.

"Crud, I haven't revised or anything! What do we have to do for it?" Hinata shrugged her shoulders and as if to answer her question Iruka carried on.

"For the exam you will have to create two perfect clones of yourself,"

"I'm the worst at that," Maho and Naruto said at the exact same time.

"Whoa, freaky," They both said this at the same time again and grinned and laughed at each other.

"As not to do the exam today, as practice you are to transform into me. Please line up at the front here and get in a single-file line. You will each step forward and perform it individually."

Maho stood up, ignoring the pain in her arm and walked to the front with all the rest of the class. As they walked down the steps it seemed as though Ino purposely shoved into her so Maho simply spat back. "Get a life Ino!" The blonde grunted and then walked to the front of the class. Soon after that, everybody was in a line. At the front was Sakura followed by Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Kaede, Hinata, Chouji and Kiba with the rest of the class behind him. Maho saw Sakura get called up and saw her say something to Sasuke.

"Watch me Sasuke," Maho crossed her arms slowly and rolled her eyes, Shikamaru saw this and grunted in response.

"Pathetic isn't it, girls are so troublesome,"

"Hey!" Maho shoved Shikamaru slightly, though a small smile lifted her lips, "I'm a girl in case you didn't realize!"

"Oh right, gomen. See what I mean, you're troublesome! Now I have a bruise on my arm as well,"

"Ha!" Maho said victoriously as she watched Sakura perform the technique perfectly _'Kiss-up' _Then Sasuke was up, he did the technique with no hassle and afterwards walked boredly back to his seat, trying not to look interested in the others. Then it was Naruto.

"Good luck!" Maho said encouragingly and watched Naruto nervously step up.

"Transform!" A blue light encircled Naruto and in a puff of smoke he was revealed. However, Naruto hadn't turned into Iruka-sensei, of goodness no, instead he had turned into a nude girl with blonde hair and only puffs of smoke covering her to make her decent. Maho's eyes widened at the surprise that Naruto had given them all, watching as their sensei flew into the wall with blood shooting from his nose. Naruto turned back into his twelve year-old boy self and was laughing very hard.

"How do you like that? I call it the seduction technique!"

"Don't make up stupid techniques!" Iruka yelled, towering over Naruto as he began sweating and mumbling to himself about _'stupid techniques'_ and then went back to his seat. Naruto smiled again and turned to Maho who was trying to stop herself from laughing. When she caught Naruto's eye, she stuck her thumb up as if to say 'nice-one'.

"Shikamaru, go," He stood forward and mumbled tiredly, turning into Iruka with no flaws.

"Woot, alright Shikamaru!" Maho cheered he just went back to his seat.

"Igashowa Maho, your up,"

"Crap, crap, crap!" She said quietly to herself as she stepped up. She performed the hand seal and closed her eyes ready to concentrate. _'Concentrate, it's not your best jutsu but you can do it. Concentrate'_ a blue light began to slowly surround her and circle her.

"Transform!" Iruka looked expectant as the smoke cleared but only sweat-dropped at her attempt. She had transformed into her sensei okay but he had two fluffy dog-ears on top of his head.

"Maho, how did this happen! You're as bad as Naruto!" He yelled at her making her cower back a bit, she turned back into her normal self and began to reply.

"Gomen! I was just thinking about if everyone else passes and I just happened to be thinking of Kiba at the time and then I thought about how ADORABLE Akamaru is, so you've obviously…somehow…accidently…got Akamaru ears," She rubbed the back of her hair with her hand and laughed nervously. She could hear Akamaru barking and Kiba laughing, so she turned to them and smirked.

"Very well, take a seat, don't forget to stay behind at lunch and after school finishes,"

"How could I forget, Iruka-sensei," She slumped back in a different seat this time, now sitting next to Naruto.

"Are you sure you want to sit here, Maho? People will tease you for hanging out with me."

Turning in her seat to face Naruto, Maho grinned and stuck both of her thumbs up,"That's the thing, I don't care what people think of me. I get teased all the time, plus I don't care what anyone else thinks! I think you're a funny, cool kid." She smiled to Naruto and noticed that in front of her Sasuke had lifted his head a little to listen. Maho scrunched her nose up in distaste at the raven-haired boy, _'Someone's being nosey today'._

"Arigato Maho, by the way your transformation was hilarious, I think Iruka-sensei should have Akamaru's ears permanently!" The glum expression which had settled over Naruto's face almost instantaneously disappeared as he beamed at the girl.

"You thought _mine _was hilarious? I thought yours was funnier. I had to bite both my cheeks and my tongue to stop my self from laughing out loud. I'm already in a ton of trouble today and I so didn't need to get Iruka mad at me for laughing. But I never figured Iruka-sensei for a closet pervert!" Maho had to bite down on her lip once again to try and keep herself from laughing at her last statement. Too bad they were graduating, if she had known that bit of information earlier, it would have been wonderful blackmail material.

She noticed that Hinata and Chouji had both done there transformation and had gone back to their seats. Now it was Kiba's turn and he was up the front. She turned to Hinata and Chouji. "Nice job you guys," They both smiled in return, although Chouji's face was half in a packet of some sort of food.

"Alright Akamaru!" Maho turned her attention to the front again and noticed that Kiba had made two transformations and turned back into himself and Akamaru, he then decided to go and take a seat next to her.

"Kiba that's cheating! You used Akamaru to get more marks!"

"Earth to Maho, you used Akamaru too!" The Inuzuka teased back, a smirk adorning his lips and allowing his enlarged canines to poke out from behind his lips.

"Good point…but I didn't use him on purpose; he was just in my _mind!"_Maho retorted with an un-amused snap, tapping her forehead to emphasize her statement.

"Yeah, whatever, Maho." The boy huffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest, earning a small bark from Akamaru. "By the way, nice going Naruto. I can't believe you actually did that."

"Heh, it was pretty awesome wasn't it!" Naruto said smugly, kicking his feet up to rest on the top of the desk. All Kaede could do though was sit back and roll her eyes as the two boys on either side of her conversed in the funny way that boys do.

"Alright now that everyone's done, you may have your lunch break, the five that I mentioned earlier will stay behind ." Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Naruto and Maho all groaned as everyone stood up to leave. Sakura and Ino watched with longing eyes as Sasuke got up and jumped out of the window.

"Wow he's so cool!"

"If I get out of here before the end I'm eating lunch with him!"

"Shut up forehead girl, I'll be the one eating lunch with him!"

"Want to bet Ino-pig?"

"Man, those two need to get over him," Maho grumbled to herself, or so she _thought _because Naruto and Kiba grunted in agreement. Those three sat staying together where as Ino and Sakura separated; Ino closest to the window, obviously planning to jump out and Sakura sat closest to the door; ready to run out when they were dismissed.

"You five all know why you're here: starting fights," He turned to look at Sakura, Ino and Maho. "and interrupting class whilst in the middle of a lecture," He then turned to Kiba and Naruto who h averted their eyes from Iruka's line of sight by staring out the window.

"Iruka-sense, I didn't even say a word! Why the heck am I in trouble? It's not my fault no one keeps Kiba on a leash!" I called out, leaning forward in my chair and pointing an accusing finger at our sensei.

"Maho, do you want to make those two days to stay behind after school?" Iruka threatened, holding the punishment over her head. Maho had no choice but to sigh in defeat.

"No sensei,"

"Good, now sit here in silence for ten minutes and then you will be able to leave." She heard Sakura and Ino silently whisper a 'Yes!' So the group of five sat and waited for ten minutes; the longest ten minutes of Maho's life. Of course she'd been in trouble and kept in before, but somehow it seemed different today. '_Don't get too excited Maho, you get to stay behind after as well. I suppose it keeps me away from home for longer! Which brings me back to the whole 'becoming a ninja' thing I need to pass this exam, I can't stay at home…I just can't…'_

"Time's up, you five are free to leave and I hope you've learned your lesson. Tomorrow is your last day of school. Also let me just give an extra good luck to you, I don't expect this behavior again." Iruka scolded, walking back into the room as the allotted time had passed.

"Yes sensei." All five chorused together. Then as soon as the two girls had been released, just as predicted, Sakura had run out the door and Ino had jumped out the window. Also before she knew it, Kiba had run out after Akamaru, and Naruto had jumped out the window also; leaving Maho and Iruka alone. '_Well this certainly isn't awkward. Thanks guys, thanks a bunch.'_

"Don't forget about seeing me after school," Iruka called out as she slowly turned towards the window.

"Oh, yay! I can't wait, Iruka-sensei," She said sarcastically, pausing at the window, but deciding to walk out the door instead. Jumping would only make her aches and injuries worse. Maho wandered around for a while trying to find Hinata until she spotted her on a bench eating her lunch quietly and watching Naruto as he tried to perfect his clones again and again.

"Hey Hinata, is it okay if I eat my lunch with you today? I don't really feel like eating on my own today and my only other options were with the boys…" She pointed to the group of boys who were acting like complete idiots and stuffing noodles up their nostrils, which somehow they found hilarious. "Or the Sasuke fan-club," She then pointed to all the girls surrounding a very annoyed Sasuke, who was just trying to eat his lunch in peace. Somehow it seemed as if the raven-haired boy had heard Maho speak his name, quickly glancing at the orange-haired girl. When he saw her looking at him, he gave her an irritated look, huffing and turning back around to finish his lunch. Maho simply rolled her eyes at his reaction and sat down as Hinata shuffled over and let her sit down. An amused smile lifted her lips as Maho watched the dark-haired girl at her side, the pale lavender eyes watching the blonde boy before trying to look away. However, her eyes would always wander back to the boy, "So why are we watching Naruto?" Hinata's face went bright red and she began to stutter.

"I…uh…well…I was sat here and…"

Laughing lightly, I patted the poor girl on the back, using my other hand to try and smother my laughs, "It's okay Hinata, I don't mind watching him. He's so determined I really admire him, I wish I could be like that,"

Hinata's blush seemed to fade, but not disappear completely, and she began to nervously fidget her fingers. "Me too. I hope I can get confident enough for him to notice me."

"Hinata, I know you can." Maho said with a smile as she opened her Bento and began eating noodles out of it. An idea struck me though, and after finish chewing, I looked up at Naruto, "Oi Naruto, you've been practicing for a while. How about you come an eat something?" I called out to him.

"Sure," He called back with a smile, finishing up what he was doing and taking a seat in the middle of the two girls. From the corner of her eye, Maho could see Hinata's face beginning to turn red, but her attention was quickly turned to Naruto as he let out a groan.

"Awww man, I forgot my lunch,"

"It's okay, you can have the rest of mine. I'm full anyway, and oh wait a second…I just remembered I have to…go…somewhere else, ja ne!" Maho, of course, didn't mean this she just thought it would be funny to leave Hinata sat next to Naruto. With that she ran off and smiled as the two began to talk, although Naruto was probably concerned because her face was flushed. '_Great didn't think this through. Where am I supposed to go now? I really don't want to sit with Kiba and his friends, boy's are idiots when there together and I don't want to be with the boy I hate and the girls that hate me. I'll probably end up dead if I did that…What about the swing at the front of the school?' _Walking around until she came to the old swing shaded by ancient trees, she went and sat on it; swinging lightly. There wasn't really anybody around this part so she was just staring at the birds through holes in the trees. That was, until a figure caught her eye. Upon closer inspection it was none other than Uchiha Sasuke and he seemed to be running swiftly. Maho wondered why, but didn't second guess it when she heard a rumble and girls screaming. Sasuke had escaped and the girls were after him so he was trying to find a place to hide. He obviously saw the trees and he had to have seen Maho sitting on the swing, but he ran in her direction anyways, hiding behind the tree that Maho was next to on the swing. The fangirls followed the Uchiha towards the tree and began to head in Maho's direction. Maho's eyes looked from the rabid mob to Sasuke, who looked very out of breath, leaning on the tree. Meeting her gaze, Maho could have sworn Sasuke had given her a pleading look, as if to say 'help', but why should she help him? He's never helped her before, in fact he's done the opposite; the majority of her being picked on was because she didn't fall all over this guy. The girls headed towards the trees and came to a halt in front of Maho who was swinging gently on the tree, making sure not to give away Sasuke's hiding place, though she wasn't quite sure why she even bothered.

"Oi baka, have you seen Sasuke?" Ino spoke up, dramatically pointing an accusing finger at the orange-haired girl.

"I have a name: it's Maho."

"Yeah whatever. Have you seen Sasuke come this way?" Sakura asked, stepping in front of the blonde.

Their persistence was beginning to annoy Maho. Honestly, why would they ever ask _her_ in the first place? It was a common fact that Maho had no positive feelings to the Uchiha. "Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. But even if I had, I wouldn't tell you skanks." She spat, making the others look rather insulted at this and tried to think of a good come-back.

"Trying to act all cool and non-caring like that is just because you're trying to be like Sasuke so he'll notice you!" She didn't know who said this but it was a random girl in the crowd.

"I'm really not. I just don't happen to like people with crazy obsessions so I'm defending myself and trying to annoy you at the same time!" She replied with a smirk, she'd had plenty of practice at making comebacks and these girls obviously hadn't.

"Fine, but don't expect us to ever be nice to you. Even when I'm married to Sasuke and become Uchiha Sakura!"

"Or Uchiha Ino," Maho simply laughed in their faces, louder than she wanted to in fact, but that comment was too funny from her point-of-view.

"I think Sasuke would be rather scared to marry one of you. Think about it, you'd bring all your sad little pictures of him, which are covered in lipstick, and stick them all over the wall. Then there's your possessiveness over him; that might be enough to drive him mad. By the looks of it, he's not even interested in girls at the moment. I'm sure he's got more important things to be worrying about."

"Oh…j…just shut up orange-hair, you're just jealous because Sasuke doesn't look twice at you!"

"Oh, now I'm really offended! Don't say anymore, I might cry! Last time I checked, he hasn't looked twice at any of you either!" She faked shock and opened her mouth wide, placing her hand on her chest. She could see Sasuke from the corner of her eyes smirk slightly from his hiding spot. It was obvious that the crowd of girls was angry for what Maho had said, but she couldn't have cared less. Watching them all grumble and trudge off in defeat, they quickly became re-motivated and ran off to look for Sasuke once again. With that, he came out of his hiding place. _'Wow, I've just lost my chance of ever making friends because of this baka'_ she internally grumbled to herself. But then again, did she really _want_ any of those girls as a friend. They were just too….pathetic. Hopping off of the swing, Maho's feet landed softly on the ground and she blankly looked up at Sasuke.

"You owe me," Was all she said and with that she walked away from the swing and jumped as high as she could through the window to her classroom just as the bell went off. She sat at her desk next to Hinata again and noticed as Sasuke walked in -through the door this time- that he looked at her with a peculiar expression on his face. _'What was that about Sasuke not looking twice at me, Ino?' _ She smirked, leaving Hinata, Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji looking very confused. Oh this had definitely been an interesting day, and it wasn't even half-way over.


	2. Revealing the Stone Cold Truth

**Woohoo! Another chapter is up! I should have an image of what Maho looks like up soon, so I'm getting on that. I already have the picture, I just have to edit a few things. If I had better drawing skills, I would totally just draw her out, but, well….. T^T; yeah… Anyways! Read, review if you feel any thoughts you have need to be expressed. As much as I love criticism, please no flames! . They are just plain mean and hurtful. If you personally don't like something in the story or have an awesome I idea and feel the need to tell me so, go ahead! I like knowing what my readers like! So please help me out~**

**3 Kago of the Funk**

"Great another hour until we leave, oh wait…I'm _not_ leaving because I have to stay behind for something that wasn't even my fault!"

"Quiet down Maho."

"For crying-out-loud!" She sighed as she placed her head in her hands on the desk. This _was so stupid..._ She grumbled to herself, laying her head on her hands and glaring out at the window which was a few seats down. Closing her eyes, she accidently fell asleep and only woke up when Kiba kicked her from behind, waking her with a start. Drowsily looking around the class room, she saw how all the students were now standing, packing all of their things away in the backpacks and leaving.

Maho turned around, blurry eyed, when Kiba kicked her again for the fun of it waking her up properly. Growling at him, she punched him in the ankle when his foot came up once again, "Okay Kiba, I got it the first time!" She snapped.

The young Inuzuka boy grimaced as the blow struck him, pulling his foot to him and rubbing it to try and ease the welling pain. But even through the pain, he smirked arrogantly, "Just checking," Akamaru barked, probably siding with Kiba in some way, shape, or form.

"Why didn't Iruka-sensei didn't shout at me or wake me up? He didn't even rudely ask me a question when he knew I was asleep so I wouldn't answer or even if I woke up I wouldn't know the answer?" Maho asked, somewhat puzzled at having actually gotten away with sleeping in class.

Of course, Kiba just shrugged, not knowing the answer either, and stood up. "Hm, Iruka-sensei's nicer than I thought. Maybe he knew you were asleep, but since you have to stay behind anyway, he wouldn't punish you and just let you sleep?" The dog-boy proposed. Kiba was getting ready to leave, but Maho stood up.

"Sweet! Did anything exciting happen, what did he talk about?"

"You didn't miss much he was just going on about tomorrow and how to revise easier tonight for the exam tomorrow, but you missed the best bit!"

"I did, really, what was it?"

"After Iruka-sensei told you off for sleeping, Sakura and Ino made a smart remark about you to show off in front of Sasuke and instead Iruka said that they have to stay behind as they had caused more trouble than you and that you only have to stay for a few minutes so he can talk to you,"

"Wow even better! I should nap more often!" She said with a fox-like grin. "Well anyways, bye Kiba. See you Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji." They all waved at her as they walked out the door. She then turned to Naruto who was still in front of her.

"See you tomorrow as well Naruto. Good luck with the exam!"

"You too, bye!" He shouted as he jumped out the window and dashed across the buildings. Sasuke still hadn't packed up his things and was just getting to it, obviously being irritated by Sakura and Ino who had purposely used the staying behind time as an excuse to talk to him. That's when Iruka spoke up.

"Sakura, Ino could you please step out? I need to talk with Maho privately, you too Sasuke. Hurry-up please."

"Hm," Sakura and Ino turned and left, grumbling to each other as they left and Maho walked cautiously to the front. As she passed Sasuke who was leaving as well, she glanced at him. It was awkward as they both seemed to slow their pace, him turning to look at her as well. They held each other's gaze, longer than what any normal person usually does. Maho was the first to pull her head away, coughing to try and erase the uncomfortable feeling she had, and walked to Iruka. Sasuke then jumped out the window, the tiniest bit of a smirk on his face, so small that it looked almost exactly the same to his normal, blank expression. But of course, Maho caught this. _That Sasuke, he's so weird sometimes. What was with that look?_

Iruka waited until he knew for certain that he had the red-head's attention, knowing how she loved to just tune him out when he spoke. But this was important."Now Maho this is a serious matter, okay?"

"Yeah, I think I know what it's about." Maho frowned. She really didn't want to talk about this. Why couldn't Iruka just let it go. It really wasn't that big of a deal. Things would be changing in a few days once she became a genin.

"Probably, you've been coming in awfully late these past couple of weeks and you always seem to have some sort of cut or bruise on you somewhere." The concerned look on my sensei's face made me feel guilty. He was worried….

"Yeah well this morning, I was walking down an alleyway to try and avoid this gang of older girls who always argue with me. There were two drunken men fighting and I got caught in the middle of it, that's all." She said with a bright smile. _Just make him think everything's fine. Everything is fine. Come on Iruka-sensei! Take it and go. Take it and go!_

"That doesn't explain the other days you've come in with bruises and cuts though. Would you mind telling me why?" _Dam you Iruka-sensei!_

"It's nothing really; I'm just…clumsy." _Yeah, because he'll totally believe that, Maho._

"Maho…" Iruka said, trying to be sympathetic. He then placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and knelt down to her height. "If there's something more going on here, I'd like to know about it so I can help you." Shoving his hand off her shoulder, Maho took a step back, not looking up at him as she did so.

"I don't need your help; I'm doing fine on my own. There's nothing you can do to help." Maho bit back bitterly. She was fine, she didn't need help. She had been dealing with this for a while. Besides, it wasn't like she was weak.

"So there is something. Please you don't have to tell me, but I know you'll feel a lot better when you get it off your chest." The teacher, knowing his student's stubbornness, tried a different approach. If she wouldn't tell him to ease his worries, then maybe she would tell him for herself.

Looking up at the brunette, Maho couldn't help but look hopeful. As much as she could handle it, if something made things better, even if only by a little bit, then she would try it. "Promise? Because I'm not telling you because I want to, but because you've just told me it will make me feel better."

Iruka couldn't help but smile. Oh yeah, she most definitely was stubborn."I promise."

"Well the reason I've been coming in late for the last couple of weeks is because…Well I know you and the Hokage and all the other jounin know that my parents just left me as a toddler and tried to kill me by setting the house on fire when they left…And all of you also know I was adopted by a very nice single women…Well…recently…she got a boyfriend and now she's pregnant. She doesn't know this, but while she's out or resting…her boyfriend…tells me I should leave because once the babies born, my adopted mother will have no time for me and she won't want me anymore…I…I know this is all lies, but he just tells me in a way…that makes me believe it…Then it doesn't help that I'm bullied all the time and so…before school I started getting really angry and taking my anger out on the training. I worked myself too hard and injured myself or got bruised everyday, but I felt stronger and happy when I hurt myself…I got hurt so much I didn't realize how badly I was hurt; if that makes sense. Recently though, now that her boyfriend is spending more time with her and away from me he doesn't get me angry and I stop training."

"Oh Maho…Nobody knew that she had a boyfriend or was pregnant. The boyfriend, he never…hit you or did indecent things, did he?"

Maho's eyes widened at the disgusting thought that Iruka presented. Ew ew EW! "No way, I wouldn't let him! He only hit me once, but it was a complete accident. I swear, he's never hurt me. He only tells me weird things and I can't help but believe them. Then at night I have weird nightmares…" Iruka was surprised to see Maho in front of him like this. He never thought it was possible, but he could see the tears in the young girl's eyes. _She's so cheerful at school. All the time she gets bullied. _Pulling the girl into a quick embrace, Maho didn't think of it as weird; she just thought of it as a comforting gesture because he felt sorry for her and she returned the gesture.

Wrinkling her nose to dry away any and all unshed tears, Maho put her hands on her hips, giving her sensei a stern look, "I don't want to be treated any different because I told you this. I'm taking the exam tomorrow and even if I mess up make sure you don't treat me any different; fail me if I do it wrong. I can live with nine more months of that guy. If what he says is true, I can just leave Konoha if my adopted mother wouldn't want me anymore." Iruka released her from the hug, giving the girl a tender look before he told her she could go.

"Oh Maho, you'll head straight home, right?"

"Obviously." The girl said with a sarcastic roll of her eyes.

And she was back to normal… "Good. I don't want you getting into more trouble."

"Don't worry Iruka-sensei, I've been put through worse." She smiled and went to leave, but as she opened the door, Ino and Sakura fell into the classroom, landing splat on their faces. _Oh crap, I forgot these two were outside! Bet they heard everything. _Both girls instantly stood up and hugged Maho as tight as they could. The orange-haired girl, use to the abuse these two gave her, was extremely wierded out by their sudden action and simply pushed them off. "Get _off_ me!"

"Maho, we're so sorry we didn't know!"

"Yeah, we wouldn't have treated you so bad if we knew…" Both girls practically wailed, making Maho cringe.

Iruka stood behind his desk, a frown set deep on his face, but he took advantage of the opportunity that this gave him. _Maybe they could actually learn to get along now. _"Now that you girls know this, nothing's going to change between us." Maho firmly told them, a scowl remaining on her face. "I still don't like you and I don't want any of your pity either. So tomorrow, after the exam if we all pass, even if I'm on the same team with one of you, my feelings will not change towards you, got it? And how come you _both _know Naruto has had a worst life than me but you don't try and make friends with him? You're both still pathetic." Maho pushed the two girls out of the way and calmly walked down the hall, not bothering to even look back at the fuming pre-teens.

_Or maybe things will never change._

"Iruka-sensei…"

"Don't worry about it girls, you may go home. Please, if you know it's going to upset Maho, don't tell anyone about what you heard." They nodded their heads and left, whispering to themselves about what they had witnessed. Iruka instantly jumped out of the window, so fast that he was just a blur, and he landed outside the Hokage office. He was deeply worried about his student and truly wanted to make sure she was safe. He needed to find out some information about this boyfriend of Maho's adoptive mother. Why hadn't anyone else heard about him?

As Maho left the school yard, she tried to shake off the odd feeling she had deep in her gut. She wasn't happy at all that those two brats had gotten into her personal life. They could easily just torment her more know that they know something personal. Maho, so deep in her thoughts, didn't notice a figure in the dark, crouched near the window and tucked away in the shadows of the ending day. They had heard everything and had now witnessed her leaving. As silent as any ninja could be, they jumped away swiftly.

Knocking lightly on the door of the fire shadow, Iruka opened it hesitantly, "Hokage-sama?"

"Iruka, I'm assuming you're here about the Igashowa girl. We are aware of the situation already and an ANBU nearby had heard the whole thing and witnessed Igashowa Maho leaving building."

"Then you'll know we need to get to that man immediately? He could be a danger to her and I won't let him put one of my students in danger."

"My assistants are on it now. We have actually been watching the situation. It was now only just confirmed that the man is not originally a Konoha villager, only posing as one. He is a dangerous criminal who was only after money and women, usually murdering the women he was with once he was finished with them. However, he seemed to have a particular attachment to Maho's mother though and stayed with her, trying to get rid of Maho as he knew she would interfere with his plans."

Iruka stared down at his feet, guilt washing over him. Maybe he wasn't good enough to be these kids' sensei. It was only two or so years ago he had begun to watch over Naruto, who had been tossed aside by most, if not all, of the villagers; treated like scum. Now he felt as if he had failed in protecting Maho from what he should have picked up on.

"Iruka, do not hold yourself responsible for having not known. This man, he has a ninja ability that puts those he comes in contact with almost in a genjutsu; in a hypnotized state if you like. So I assume Maho's mother is a victim of this technique and the things he has told Maho, she was most likely effected too, whether to harm or injure herself or not, I don't know." As Sarutobi finished consoling the chunin, an ANBU member appeared, crouched on one knee and head bowed.

"Reporting in, Hokage-sama. The criminal, Takahashi Ganju, has been captured and sent to the ANBU interrogation room where he is currently being questioned."

With a relieved smile, the Hokage let out a small grunt of acknowledgement, "And how are Maho and her mother?"

"Ms. Igashowa has been taken to the house to the hospital; just to ensure nothing has been done to her physically and to check the baby. Then ANBU will check to undo anything that has happened to her mentally."

"And Igashowa Maho?"

"Well, she has not been home, according to her mother, but we expect her to return home shortly. Other members of ANBU think she will be young, healthy and strong enough to fight her way out of the mentally harmful things Ganju had done to her. The injuries are only minor and will heal."

"Thank you, you are dismissed,"

"Arigato." With that, the ANBU that had seconds before been in front of Iruka and the Hokage, had now disappeared.

"Thank goodness she's okay. She might be able to concentrate on passing the exam now. It's a shame the teasing won't stop,"

"Teasing? What do you mean Iruka?"

"Well because of her brightly colored orange hair and the fact that she hasn't got a strong 'fan-girl obsession' over Uchiha Sasuke, the girls seem to treat her differently and insult her. She doesn't seem to mind though, she is good friends with Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, Hyuuga Hinata and she seems to be getting along nicely with Uzumaki Naruto,"

"That's good to hear, you are dismissed."

"Thank you, but would you like me to check if Mahp is alright, or alert her that her mother is in hospital?"

"Yes, that would be convenient."

"Hai." Iruka then disappeared from the old-man Hokage's sight and jumped out the window. He headed for the place where he thought Maho would be: the training grounds.


	3. How Training Turns to A Nightmare

_How Training Turns into Kissing_

"Stupid school, stupid Iruka-sensei, stupid Sakura, stupid Ino, stupid LIFE!" As Maho walked along a rocky path, she kicked the little stones. Grumbling, she kicked a bigger stone and twice as hard not caring which direction it flew in. She only looked up when she heard somebody grunt. Her magnificent green eyes locked onto the figure in front of her that had been walking in the opposite direction, a scratch grazing his cheek from where the rock just missed his face: Uchiha Sasuke. He had a deep scowl set on his face and looked just about ready to scream at Maho; however when he looked at her, he, for whatever reason, couldn't. Keeping his cool, he simply brushed his cheek with his hand. "My bad," Was all Maho said as she continued to walk forward. Sure she hated him, but she did have _manners_. Moving so that she could go around Sasuke, a figure suddenly jumped down in front of her and she ran into the person, making her fall on her butt. "Ow! Mother of-" Slowly standing up and brushing the dirt off her back-side and the rest of the clothes, she looked at the figure in front of her. "Iruka-sensei, why are you here and knocking over young girls?"

"Maho, I came to tell you about your mother…"

That immediately caught her attention. "What? Is she okay? She isn't having the baby or anything right? Ganju hasn't hurt her has he?"

"Relax she's fine. I went to see the Hokage about the uh…" Iruka looked at Sasuke, who was standing there with a bored expression on his face, though you could tell that he was somewhat interested in the conversation by the way he lingered behind, and continued.

"…problem, you spoke to me about earlier and it turns out Ganju was a very dangerous criminal that can hypnotize people with his words. He mostly hypnotized your adoptive mother into loving him then wanted to get rid of you by telling you strange things. He's been arrested now and your mother is in the hospital being checked for injuries and to see if the baby is safe. I just came to tell you in case you would like to see her."

"What? Of course I want to see her, I'll go right now!" Maho turned on her heel and began to run back the way she came, leaving the two males by themselves. When she was out of sight and ear-shot, Iruka turned to Sasuke.

"I'm sure Maho would prefer you not to tell anybody about what you've heard today. Now I know you and Maho really don't like each other, but this is a very delicate subject and so please don't say anything. I know for certain that she would appreciate it." With that he disappeared, once again leaving Sasuke on the path on his own.

"Hn," _As if I'd be bothered about that girl and her home-life._ He then continued the way he'd been heading, which surprisingly was the way Maho had just left _Why should I care which way she left? I just need to train to keep my mind focused._ Turning off at the training grounds, he briefly paused and glanced over his shoulder where Maho had run off, then mentally scolded himself and found a spot to train.

"Arigato." Maho just managed to get her thanks out before rushing down the hall to her mother's room. She had asked which room her mother was in at the reception desk and then swiftly made her way up the very similar corridors until she came to room 124. She slid it open and smiled as she saw her mother sitting on the edge of her bed, practically ready to leave.

"Oh thank the holy LORD! You're okay! Iruka-sensei told me you'd been sent to hospital and I got so worried I came all the way here without stopp-." Maho stopped as her adoptive mother hopped off the edge of the bed and smothered the girl into an embrace, crying into her hair. Maho wrapped her arms around her mother comfortingly and tried to make out what she was saying in between sobs.

"I'm so, so, so sorry Maho! I had no idea what he was saying to you and how he was making you feel…I believed him when he told me all your injuries and bruises were because you kept getting into fights at school, but then he told me he sorted them and…now I've got his baby which I don't want and…I'm sorry Maho!" Releasing the blathering woman from the hug, the young red-head smiled at her mother as she reached over to a tray at the bed's side and gave her a tissue.

"Trust me, it's totally fine. He didn't even say anything that bad to me, I just lost my temper and trained myself too hard. And don't you dare get rid of that baby! I've been looking forward to having a baby brother or sister and just because his dad was horrible, that doesn't mean this child will be. I'll even drop my test tomorrow so I don't have to be a ninja and I can help you look after the baby when it's born." Even if Ganju was out of the picture, becoming a ninja was Maho's dream, ever since she was a young kid. And even though it hurt to even think about giving that up, Maho smiled in spite of it. She would do anything for her mother and the baby, they just meant that much to her.

Surprised by her daughter's offer, she smiled tenderly, cupping Maho's face gently with the palm of her hand, shaking her head lightly, "That's very sweet of you Maho, but I can't let you do that. You've wanted to be a ninja since I adopted you and I'm not going to be the reason you give up that dream. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I'm sure I will be able to look after this baby just fine, I have friends after all." With a playful wink, she laughed lightly.

However, Maho gave her mother a suspicious and doubtful look, "You sure?"

"Uh-huh,"

"You totally, absolutely sure?"

"Yes darling, I'm sure."

With an amused sigh, Maho rolled her eyes, "Alright alright. Oh! guess what?"

"What now Maho?" Her mother laughed, lightly pushing the girl in a playful manner.

"I've made friends with that Uzumaki Naruto kid and he's really nice, but I totally messed up my chances of ever having friends because of that stupid Sasu-Baka and I'm really worried I'm not going to pass my test tomorrow!" Maho panted dramatically as she finally finished her run on sentence and her mother lightly patted her back.

"That's nice sweetie, I always felt sorry for that boy. But you've never liked Sasuke and I don't see why you should start now, but I thought you didn't like those girls either? And don't worry about tomorrow, I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors. Not to mention I bet you get put on a team with one of your best friends!" Tapping Maho's nose with her pointer finger, the adult woman laughed, making Maho smile, and the two walked out the hospital laughing together.

"Maho!"

Aki turned her head to the owner of the voice just as she stepped out of the hospital. Both females recognized Kiba running towards them with Akamaru on his head. Bending down, Aki whispered into her daughter's ear teasingly. "Strange boy that Kiba..." Maho simply looked at her mother and laughed.

"He can't help the fact he likes dogs. His name is _Inu_zuka Kiba; they're part of his clan!" The orange-haired girl exclaimed, somewhat defending one of her closest friends.

"Hey, oh hello Igashowa-san. How come you were coming out of the hospital, you're both okay right?" Kiba had come to a halt as he reached Maho and her mother.

"Good afternoon Kiba. We're both fine, we just had some slight problems to deal with, but they're all fine now and…" Looking down to her daughter to ask for her consent, it took a moment for Maho to realize what her mother meant. Nodding her head, she was slightly confused. Shouldn't _she_ have been the one to ask to tell her friend instead of the other way around? Mentally shrugging, Maho didn't even bother to try and continue that train of thought.

"And I'm also pregnant Kiba."

"Oh, really? Wow, that's so awesome, Igashowa-san! Are you excited about getting a younger sibling, Maho?" The boy grinned, flashing his sharp canines.

"Uh-huh, I sure am. But anyways, shouldn't you be at home revising for the exam tomorrow?"

"No, I got the whole clone thing down. Watch!" Akamaru jumped down off of Kiba's head and landed next to him. "Let's do it Akamaru!" He barked happily in response wagging his tail and Kiba performed the appropriate hand signs. "Bunshin Jutsu!" After the smoke had cleared there were four Kibas that were standing in front of Maho and her mother.

"What the HECK! Kiba, how did you make four yous!" The young kunoichi-in-training's brilliant green eyes moved from one Inuzuka to the next, trying to discern the original from the fakes. It was the one farthest to the left of Maho that spoke up.

"Akamaru and I both made a clone each. Plus Akamaru turned into me so that makes four clones!" Then Akamaru's clone and Kiba's clone disappeared and Akamaru turned back into a small dog and jumped back on Kiba's head, the boy grinning.

"Kiba that's _cheating_! Akamaru doesn't count as a clone; that's a transformation!"

"I won't tell if you won't!" He then winked and grinned, showing a fang and walked past Maho, ruffling her hair a little. She punched him in his arm lightly smiling at him and then managed to pull his hood down as he walked past, and she quickly jumped in front of him ruffling his hair and laughed sticking her tongue out.

"_That_ was cheating Maho, you know I like having my hood up!"

"Yeah, but I don't see why, your hair's so…fluffy! You could probably get a girlfriend as well because you can see your cute little, chubby face more; oh wait its _puppy_ fat!" Kaede laughed as she grabbed Kiba's cheeks in both her hands and pulled the chubby part slightly. He pushed her hand away and waved as he walked out of sight, grumbling slightly at her rough treatment of his face.

"He seems nice honey; I haven't seen Kiba in so long. You really should invite your friends around more!"

"Well, they'd probably be too embarrassed to hang out with a girl like me in public because they'd get teased for having the 'orange freak' as a girlfriend and Hinata probably won't like me after today because I uh…" Maho trailed off at that thought, not exactly wanting to tell her mother what she had done to try and help her friend.

But, of course, her mother knew better, her hands resting on her hips as she scowled down at her daughter, "Maho, what did you do now?"

Sheepishly smiling, the red-head rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, "I kind of…invited Naruto to sit with Hinata and I at lunch today and then kind of…left them sitting together and walked off." She saw her mother give her a 'you-know-that-was-wrong' look and Maho couldn't help but avert her gaze to anything that wasn't her mother. "I only did it because I thought it would be funny and to see if Hinata could get any redder! And I was right! That, but I wanted to help her get closer to Naruto. Is that so bad?" Maho knew it probably wouldn't work, but hopefully her excuses would at least let her slide through unpunished.

Maho's mother sighed, shaking her head at her daughter's antics. "Anyway, we'd better get home like…_now_ because as soon as you have dinner I'm making you revise until nine for your exam. Then you have to sleep. I need my little munchkin to pass her exam tomorrow!"

Maho deadpanned at her mother's declaration, but smiled none-the-less, "Yeah, I'll make dinner though; you need to rest with the baby and everything. No sweat, isn't that right Maho junior?" The little red-head asked as she put her ear to her mother's stomach, making her mother laugh. Pulling her head away, Maho grinned up at her foster mother, "Maho junior says yes, so let's go. I'm starved!"

"Since when was it called 'Maho junior' exactly?" The woman asked, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrow. Maho shrugged, a sheepish smile on her face, and ran in front of her mother jumping off buildings walls slightly and running along the roof-tops ignoring her mother's protests.

"Fire style: Fireball Jutsu!"Sasuke placed his hand to his mouth and inhaled and as he exhaled, a large ball of fire appeared to come from his mouth.

"Okay, even I have to admit it Uchiha,_ that_ was pretty impressive." Sasuke turned as he heard a feminine voice come from behind him out of the trees.

Recognizing the head of orange hair anywhere, the Uchiha turned back around, hoping the girl would get the hint that he wanted her to leave."Hn,"

"Intelligent input." This time he didn't answer; if he ignored her, she'd go away. But apparently Igashowa Maho did not understand social cues and he could hear her feet heavily walk through the dirt.

"Why are you here?"

"Oh shit! Uchiha Sasuke just said a _full_ sentence!" Kaede said, faking surprise with a hand over her mouth and wide-eyes. "But don't get too excited _Teme_, I'm not here to faun over you like your fangirls. This is a training ground; anyone can come here. My mother wants me to practice tonight so I'll pass tomorrow. It almost like she _wants_ to get rid of me…" Maho comically frowned at that though, wondering if it could possibly be true. As much as her mother loved her, Maho wouldn't put it passed the woman to do such a thing. Son of a bitch! Now she'd have to interrogate her mother when she got home.

"Pfft, I wonder why.." Sasuke said under his breath, though apparently it wasn't quiet enough. In an instant Maho jumped and landed inches in front of Sasuke, her face and entire body violating his personal bubble.

"Once again Uchiha, I don't think I heard you." Maho said through gritted teeth, her eye twitching in irritation. Who did that emo duck-ass think he was?

"I said _I'd_ like to get rid of you." Sasuke said as he glared at Maho, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the girl's face inches away from his. Honestly, did this girl not know social etiquette?

Staring at the boy for a moment, Maho slowly leaned away, shrugging nonchalantly. "Ditto, but I suppose we'll have to wait till tomorrow. When you and I are split up onto different teams, hopefully we'll be so busy doing missions we won't have to see each other ever again. And the only time I'll have to talk to you will be if our two teams have to work together!" Sasuke flinched a little as Kaede said 'split-up' and 'won't have to see each other ever again'; however he wasn't sure why, maybe it was because she was just shouting so loud. Well, there was also the fact that, besides Hinata Hyuga, she was the only girl in their class who didn't swoon over the sight of him. Compared to those girls, Maho was tolerable; JUST BARELY, but tolerable. Just thinking about having any other girl on his team made him cringe. Maybe they wouldn't be put on separate te- No, she'd just get in his way in the end; they all would. Maybe there was a chance that, being at the top of his class, Iruka would have him trained solo. Yes, that's what he needed.

Sasuke smirked, "Took the words out of my mouth, Igashowa."

"Hn." Was all Maho said back as she continued to stare down the boy, giving the boy a smartass look.

"Intelligent input." Sasuke mocked, making Maho lose her cool and growl slightly. But taking a deep breath, she just managed to contain an angry retort, still in her glaring contest with Sasuke. He wasn't worth her energy; she needed to save all her strength for her training.

"Fine Uchiha, you win this one, I'll just go train somewhere else and leav-." Maho had to stop just before she finished her sentence. The ground began to shake slightly, making Maho and Sasuke lose their balance. It was pure an instinctive action when MAho grabbed onto Sasuke, clenching his arms tightly. It was only natural to grab onto the nearest thing to steady herself. When the shaking stopped all she could hear were girl's screaming.

"Fangirls…" Maho and Sasuke both sighed at the same time and looked to the huge crowd; Maho noticing Sakura and Ino at the front. Their eyes softened a little bit when they looked at Maho, but when they saw what she was _doing,_ their faces flamed up with anger.

"Wha-WHAT are you doing to Sasuke-kun?"

"Huh? What do you mea-" Maho was cut off again as she had to duck to dodge a kunai. Of course this sent Maho into a flying rage, "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR? YOU COULD HAVE HIT ME IN THE FACE WITH THAT THING! ME AND UCHIHA AREN'T EVEN…even…" Maho stopped talking as she looked up and saw how close she was to his face and that she was grabbing onto his arm tightly from the sudden stir of the earth. Coughed awkwardly, the girl immediately gave Saskue a hard shove and turned her back to him; however, neither of the two blushed, it was just something that wouldn't happen between these two. In fact, they were _annoyed_. "Oh come _on_! That's completely and totally all your guys's fault. If your stampeding hadn't cause an earthquake, then I wouldn't have had to grab on to the nearest thing to get my balance."

Sasuke twitched at being called a "thing", wanting to open his mouth and retort back by saying how he hadn't needed to hold onto something for balance, but upon noticing the group of girl's angry expressions, he decided to keep quiet. He would just leave her to deal with this annoying girls instead of having to be bothered himself.

"We'll get you for that Fruit Basket!"

"Oh and how are you going to do that?" Maho snorted, crossing her arms across her chest. She wasn't scared of a pack of declawed kittens, honestly. A kunai was heading straight for Maho, although she couldn't see it because her back was to it, and she only caught sight of it when she turned, but by that time it was centimeters from the face. Sasuke quickly jumped forward and caught the kunai in his hand leaving a confused, dazed, and shocked Maho standing there, blinking rapidly to try and process what had just happened. _Did….Uchiha just _save _me?_ This action only provoked the crowd of girls further, however.

"Sasuke-kun~, why would you save _her_?" Sakura piped up, whining in that oh-so ear bleeding voice of hers.

"Yeah we were going to teach her for messing with _our_ Sasuke-kun!" Ino followed.

"Your not…_dating_ her, are you Sasuke-kun?" That's when the crowd stopped and looked back and forth from Maho and Sasuke. Maho went to reply, telling them it that was the most idiotic and repulsive idea that she had ever heard, but Sasuke stopped her and butted in.

"You're all annoying. You shouldn't throw kunai around aimlessly like that." He scoffed coldly; however, he didn't deny the whole argument about them dating so Maho did that for him.

"Why would I date Uchiha-teme? I don't know why you just saved me, Uchiha, but I guess I should say thanks. So…Arigato. Ja ne!" The redhead quickly turned and began briskly walking away. She had already wasted enough time, now she had even LESS time to practice her jutsu. Stupid fangirls! Stupid Teme!

Everyone watched as the girl quickly tried to leave, even Sasuke's dark orbs settled on her back. The corner of his mouth twitched, deciding whether or not to tell her why he had saved her, though she should have been able to do it herself. "I still owed you. That's the only reason I saved you!" Came Sasuke's voice, loud enough for it to travel to the escaping girl. Looking over her shoulder, she just nodded her head, turning around and walking backwards so she could face duck-ass, smirking victoriously as she did so. _Well, well, well, it seems the spoied brat is softening up… _Turning back around so she could go and find another place to train, she could hear the crowd of girls shouting to Sasuke.

"Why do you owe her?"

"What did she do to you Sasuke-kun?"

She then heard him mutter something else which she couldn't quite hear as she was now out of range, but even still, she could feel Sasuke's eyes burning into her back; possibly glaring at her re-treating form for leaving him with the fan-girls. It only took seconds for her to hear many footsteps. Once again, Maho looked behind her and she broke into a silly grin, laughing maliciously as she watched Sasuke break into a run, the girls charging after him.

"Damn, should I save him again…or just leave him? Saving him would be the right thing to do even though I don't like him…plus I owe him for saving my life and I could always say he owes me _again_ and see what he does…." So it was decided, Maho would save Sasuke from the fan-girls once again and make him owe her. _Hmm…what about I make him my slave for a day? Or even smile at every person he walked past! Man that'd be torture! It's a good thing we hate each other or else that might hurt someone's feelings._ She thought sarcastically, snickering as she broke into a run after the girls. She decided it would be quicker to jump through the trees since they were now headed for the forest. Of course, there would be no way she'd be able to catch up; she had just learned how to focus chakra to different parts of her body, or atleast the fundamentals to the technique, so she couldn't push off very fast. That was when she got an idea and found it very hilarious!

"_Transformation Justu!"_ Maho stopped in her run and produced a tiger hand seal, closing her eyes and concentrating. Upon opening her grass green orbs, she smiled in satisfaction at having officially turned into a copy of Sasuke. She wouldn't be able to see the full results of her technique, but she hoped it was good enough to fool the girls. "Oh awesome! Yes! I did better than I did in class!" She then realized she didn't get Sasuke's voice as she transformed and it came out as a high-pitched girl's voice which of course wouldn't work. She coughed slightly and tried again, it took several tries before she got the right voice, by this point the crowd was almost out of her sight and she could see Sasuke starting to get tired. _Well, here goes nothing._ Letting out a short cough, Maho tried out her new voice. "Hi my names Uchiha Sasuke, I'm an avenger and a total baka who has no friends! I really love all the attention I get from girls. Too bad I'm gay and have no emotions! I cry everyday because my obvious gayness has to be kept secret, like the stupid little girl I am. I've never heard of a comb so that's why my hair looks like a chicken's ass!" She was amazed how precise her voice sounded, it sounded perfect…apart from the fact Sasuke wouldn't ever say anything like that. _Oh how I wish I could actually hear that coming from Sasuke! _Maho, aka Sasuke, then put on a bored composure, not showing any emotion, easily imitating Sasuke's attitude. Thankfully, Maho was actually outstanding with the teleportation jutsu, so with the correct handsigns, she appeared right behind the group of obsessed fangirls and brought her index finger and thumb to her mouth. With a blast of air, her whistle pierced the air, catching the attention of the real Sasuke and the fangirls. Then jumping down from the tree branch she was on, Maho landed gracefully. Maho wanted nothing more than to shout as loud as she could to reach the girls ears, but she had to act like the Uchiha.

"How pathetic! You didn't even realize you've been chasing a clone." The imposter Sasuke sneered cooly, his arms crossed in front of his chest. The girls looked back and forth from Maho to Sasuke, who had gotten the hint and all of a sudden jumped into a high tree branch, making it look like he'd disappeared. Screams and cries filled the air as the mob realized they had been duped, the girls then running towards Maho who turned around the way she came and began running as fast as she could, smirking. _If I was a really horrible person I would so run around Konoha in this Sasuke transformation wearing a pink, frilly dress and skip around smiling and waving to everyone I saw…too good. Seriously, how do I come up with these things? _As she ran past a certain bush she felt a hand grab the back of her god forsaken, hideous shirt, and she fell into the bush.

"Hey, what do you think your doi- Oh, it's you Uchiha, in that case…Hey crap-face why'd you pull me in this bush? I could've out run them!"

"Hn, you can stop being me now." He said calmly.

"Maybe I don't want to. You know I was thinking of putting a frilly, pink dress on and skipping around Konoha waving to everyone like this..." She only got a glare in response and took the hint, changing back into herself and fidgeting around a bit.

"Phew, it's good to be a girl agai-," Sasuke put a hand around her mouth and she went to protest with a grunt until she saw a crowd run past. _Why won't anyone let me finish my sentences? _He let go when the pack o' freaks ran past and neither of them knew what to say next, but they both let out a sigh of relief. Looking back up at each other, Maho's eye began twitching when she finally noticed how they'd somehow managed to get their faces inches away from each other; Sasuke with his back against a fence and Maho had her back to the bush facing Sasuke. How the hell had neither of them noticed it was only a small space which they hid in. Carefully shuffling about, Maho sat up off her behind and crouched onto the balls of her feet, her knees now between her and the Uchiha, giving her a better sense of relief. However, the crowd ran past again, someone yelling about how they saw Sasuke run in the other direction. Maho could only assume that someone had brushed against the bush, or stumbled into it because how else who the red-head fall forward so unexpectedly. Of course, there wasn't really anywhere else to fall, and she didn't like it one bit, because the person in that _only_ direction was Sasuke. After she was pushed, everything seemed to move into slow motion again like that time she had walked past him and they locked eyes for a second. Instinctively, she put her hands in front of her to brace herself as she was shoved forward towards the fence. Her knees hit the ground roughly, probably bruising them, and her hands and forearms hit the fence, making it shake. Without really thinking, Maho's fingers curled around the links in the metal fence, making her regain her balance, but her brain was frozen, eyes wide. Her forehead was rested against Uchiha's, her nose brushing against his. Maho immediately halted her breathing at the close proximity, but Sasuke's warm breath tickled her lips, almost enticingly. The orange haired girl refused to move from the position, though she wasn't particularly _fond_ of her position, she didn't want to move and there for making anything _worse_. Unfortunately, Sasuke wasn't that brilliantly smart like me, and tried to put more distance between us, in turn _bouncing his back off of the fence and right back into me_, so his lips met hers. Maho was half expecting them to be hard and cold like most of his interior and exterior –not that she imagined kissing the emo Uchiha- but they were surprisingly soft and warm. He was also thinking the same thing; however it only lasted less than a millisecond because as soon as he had bumped into her, she was throwing herself away and stood up, making herself visible to the fan girls. The red-head was dancing around and wiping her mouth repeatedly with the back of her hand, pulling at the sleeve of her shirt and rubbing her tongue clean; or at least trying to. "Ugh yuck! Gross, gross, gross, ew, ew, oh my god! Uchiha, you damn bastard, I thought you were _smart_!" Sasuke scowled at Maho for the insult, but he just sat there, still hidden behind the bush, the scowl turning to his his default uncaring, cold composure. He'd liked and hated it both at the same time, making him unsure of how to react. He watched Maho dancing around and trying to wipe of her mouth, scraping her tongue and sticking her finger down her throat. Kami, that girl was stupidly-insane. She was so enraptured in trying to get the Sasu-kooties off of her lips that she hadn't noticed the fangirls were headed straight towards her. "Why aren't you reacting back? Don't tell me you _liked_ it you demented cock-bite!" She shouted to Sasuke noticing he was simply just sitting there, dumb-founded.

"Pfft, as if. Who would enjoy intimacy with _you_? I hated every bit of that, I'm just not stupid enough to be dancing around and trying to induce vomit and basically drawing the attention of the people we're trying to hide from."

"I did not draw attention to…the people we're hiding from…" Sasuke only caught the first part of Maho's sentence seeing as the second part was drowned out by girl's screams and it looked like just her mouth moved. Upon realizing that Sasuke actually had a point, she turned around and stared at the rampaging crowd. Inhaling, her attitude instantly did a one-eighty flip. "Whoops, looks like you owe me for the second time now!" She smirked to him, seeming to forget the kiss for a few minutes, and once again performed the tiger hand-seal . The smoke engulfed her, seeming having disappeared; however she instead hid in the bush and turned into Lord Sarutobi Hokage. Stepping out of hiding, she made it appear as if the Hokage had just been taking a stroll, heading in the group's direction. "Children, my, aren't you rather rambunctious this evening. Shouldn't you all be at home revising for your very important exam tomorrow?"

The loud, violent groups of pre-teen girls immediately bowed their heads to the elder, taking on shy and meek personalities. Oh those little…"Hai." They chorused. Sasuke simply just stood there, watching with annoyance at the horrible performance of the orange haired girl. Really, how could anyone believe this horrible acting?

"Now, shouldn't we allow those who are here to traing to do so in peace? Uchi- I mean Sasuke and Maho are both here to practice, so why don't we leave them to themselves."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" The girls immediately dispersed, turning on their heels going on their separate ways. When Maho was certain she was safe from further harm, she changed back with a cloud of smoke.

The silly grin on her face kind of worried Sasuke, knowing that things usually went downhill when she smiled like that; however, he would never reveal his nervousness. "I'm getting better at this! Maybe I should hang out with you more Uchiha…If it gets me to use jutsu's like this, of course."

"Hn, you can leave now."

"Yeah, yeah I was just going." Maho spoke dismissively, waving her hand at him uncaringly, but she stopped after turning around to walk away and gave him a harsh glare, "Nobody and I mean **nobody** finds out about that kiss. It was a complete accident and neither of us liked it, right? Also nobody finds out about me helping you at least 3 times in a day. They might think it's because I actually _like_ you or something! Oh yeah, don't forget you owe me _again_ and you _also_ owe me a new tooth-brush because I'm going to go home and brush my teeth so hard now that it should snap in half!"

Sasuke smirked, uncrossing his arms and sliding his hands into his pockets, "Hn, whatever."

His response, however, simply angered the girl, making her throw her hands up into the air in frustration, "Ugh, go get a dictionary!" Maho met Sasuke's gaze before beginning to walk across the field towards her home. Feeling his eyes burning into her back again she slowly started to jog, which turned into a sprint so by the time she was home she was panting. Throwing the front door open, Maho stormed inside, her loud entrance catching the attention of her Kiohe, who popped her head out from the kitchen entrance, a bowl and towel in her hands as she dried the dish.

"Honey, why are you home early? I said you could stay out till 9 it's only 7:30; mind you, you look a little hot and tired out you must've been training hard, huh?"

"Uh…sure, yeah I was…training." If you counted running away from moronic duck-butts and their mob of rabid fangirls, that is.

"Show me then!" Her mother said excitingly as she looked at Maho expectantly.

Having been on her way up to her room to immediately fall asleep, Maho's foot froze as it sat on the first step. The girl turned and looked at her mother, blinking her grass-green eyes in confusion, "Show you what?"

"Your clone technique! I'll be able to tell you if it looks good enough to pass tomorrow. You know, I once dated a jounin who was helping on one of the tests…"

"Oh uh…great." _GWAHH! I haven't practiced! I've been too busy just hanging round at the training grounds! Shit, Mom's so gonna KILL ME when she realizes I got nothing done! I suppose I could try…it might not turn out to be as bad as I think it is. Oh whatever god there may be, please don't let today be my last day on Earth. _Having allowed her mother to finish her rant about her previous boyfriend, Maho took in a deep breath and correctly placed her hands."Bunshin no jutsu!" _Oh God, I can't look!_ Maho closed her eyes and put all her effort into creating two perfect clones of herself. It took her a minute or so to gain the courage to open her eyes, and when she did, she noticed her mother's bored expression and sweat-dropped. She looked to her left and saw a very pale version of herself lying on the floor as if it was dead. She then looked to her right and saw a clone of herself; however it had feet for hands and hands for feet. _How the hell…? I don't think even Naruto had created a worse off clone._

A deadly aura quickly filled the atmosphere of the home and the red-head began to sweat and tremble. "Looks to me like somebody's been busy with other things…" Her mother said, her voice low and dangerous, and her eyes were murderous.

Gulping, Maho tried to find an adequate…excuse for her lack of a good performance. "Well uh…I went to the training grounds, but you see Uchiha was there, and then I kind of got him into trouble with his fan-girls and then I had to save him by turning into him and distracting them, and then he pulled me into this bush to hide me from them, I changed back and then I got knocked in the head and kind of…fell on him and may have accidently…kissed him." At the mention of the kiss, the young pre-genin's cheeks flamed a brilliant pink. Realizing that her cheeks were aflame, Maho twitched in annoyance, quickly fighting it back. "That's when I transformed into the Hokage and told the girls to leave. Then I turned back into me and ran home. I'm so, so, so, so sorry! Please forgive me! I really want to do well, but I haven't practiced and now I'm going to fail!" Maho brought on the waterworks, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes, and even going as far as gasping and stuttering for breath. Maybe Kiohe wouldn't kill her if she saw how "upset" her daughter was. Okay, yeah, Maho was almost completely certain that her mother wouldn't fall for her crocodile tears –she was just waaayy to smart to trick-so was expecting an angry look from the adult; however, Mom was…_smirking_?

"You kissed your worst enemy, eh?" Her mother said with a devious smile, winking and elbowing the small red-head suggestively. This reaction made Maho's eyes widen in shock.

"What the hell? Where's the 'I'm disappointed in you' or 'If you don't pass tomorrow it's your fault for messing around instead of practicing?'"

A chilling laugh left the adult's lips as she threw her head back, "Nope, that's a perfectly good reason to not practice. I thought it was strange you didn't like him when all the others girls did, but you so do because you kissed him!" The cackling grated on Maho's nerves and she tried to refrain herself from strangling her mother, showed by the excessive amounts of twitching.

"No. I. Don't! It was an accident! Like I said I got knocked in the head! I even remember pulling away like as soon as I touched his lips! Then I stood up and started to wipe my mouth, stuck my finger down my throat, scraped my tongue on everything…I _hated_ it! So did he! Not that he showed it though…he kind of just sat there, but that's Sasuke being Sasuke I suppose." Trailing off, Maho tried to remember exactly how everything had happened. Even if he was Sasuke, it was still uberly weird that Uchiha hadn't reacted in any sort of way…

"Or it means he likes you~"

Glaring, Maho stuck her tongue out at her mother, it was better than flicking her off. "Ha, ha so funny, I'm laughing my ass off. You know we've been enemies since…well…since forever! Man you're a teenager in a women's body sometimes, you know that? What kind of adult are you?"

"I'm hardly a _women_, I am 28! And watch your language!" Mom twitched.

"Exactly, you're almost 30! That makes you a woman in my books!" Maho couldn't help but laugh, seeing as now the roles were reversed and Maho was mercilessly teasing her mother.

"Fine, fine you know you really don't help my self esteem with your mean comments like that, right Maho?" And then came her mother's attempt at crocodile tears, trying to make the girl feel guilty, but it was just about as useful as it was on her mother: absolutely ineffective.

"Uh-huh, I'm going to go out and find Kiba or someone to help me with my jutsu. I'll be back by nine, I promise." Spinning around, Maho jumped down the hallway.

"Don't worry about it, I'll change it to ten now. Make sure you get a boy or a teacher or someone to walk you home because it'll be late."

"Sure thing, love ya!"

"Love you too, my little sail."

"Don't call me that!" Maho shouted as she shut her front door and made her way down the street.


	4. Training With the Devil

_Training with the Devil_

_Who can I ask to help me? I don't suppose Naruto would be of much help since we both suck at the same thing…Shikamaru's too lazy, I've already had a very…gross run-in with the Uchiha, Chouji's either asleep or eating and Kiba's cheating so I don't want him to teach me the wrong way…darn who does that leave? Hinata's dad would get mad with me if I took her out this late…I really don't want to ask Ino or Sakura but I'm guessing they're my only hope…Sakura seems a tiny, weensy, mi-nute bit nicer than Ino so I guess I'll ask her…now if I remember right her house is around her somewhere…_ Maho ran around a corner and sure enough she came to a house with a plaque on the door saying 'Haruno residence'. _Awesome first time lucky! Maybe this night won't be so bad after all…_ Swallowing down her pride, Maho lifted a fist to the door and knocked on it. After a few shouts about who was going to get the door, a women around her mid 30's answered the door; she had long red hair that fell down to her shoulders and bangs across her forehead. She had really pretty brown eyes that reminded her of delicious brownies [drool] and she was wearing a casual green dress with a tan apron on top of it, she had a smile plastered onto her face. "Hello dear, can I help you?"

"Hi, is Sakura in please? I need to ask her for a favor?"

"Oh, of course. Sakura, there's a girl here at the door for you!" She shouted as she turned her head back into the house. Maho stood there as the door was left open, Mrs. Haruno returning to her previous job, uncertainly shifting her weight from one foot to another. The moment that head of pink hair came into view, the look of surprise on Sakura's face as she saw Maho standing there looking slightly sheepish, made the red head smirk. Haruno then glared at her remembering the previous events.

"Yo, Sakura…" Maho greeted casually, swallowing her pride once again and managing a smile. S_uck it up Maho, it's just for one night and then you can avoid her for the rest of your life if you want!_

"Igashowa, why are you here? If you've come to prank me or brag about that kiss with Sasuke earlier, I'm not in the mood. I don't even know how you knew where I lived."

"I'm not here because of that. In fact, that kiss was insanely gross and it will never, ever, ever happen again! I feel like I need to burn out my tongue, pull all my teeth out one by one and then feed my head to wild mountain lions! Naw, I actually need you to help me train!" Maho said rather quickly, scratching at the back of her head and laughing nervously.

"Nani? I didn't hear you, Maho."

Maho's eye twitched in annoyance and muttered something under her breath before asking again. _God, this is humiliating. _"I need you to help me train! I just wasted time at the training grounds saving Uchiha's butt from you guys! None of my other friends can help me out this late and I thought you seemed a little nicer than Ino. So, how about it, Sakura? I hate the fact that I'm begging in front of my second worst enemy and I'll probably have to physically hit myself every day for doing it, but can you help me with the clone jutsu for the exam tomorrow? We won't have to become friends or anything because well…I'd _hate_ that, but please just help." Maho pleaded, now almost on her knees and huffing and panting from her full two minute rant. Sakura smirked at the figure in front of her, her hands resting on her hips.

"Well, I don't see why I should. I mean…you're always so mean to me and shooting smart remarks at me…"

"Fine, if that's how you want to play it, I'll just leave you alone. Forget I said anything!" Maho shouted as she turned around and was ready to begin walking back down the path, which was when Sakura remembered earlier when she and Ino over-heard her with Iruka-sensei.

"Wait Maho, I never said I wouldn't help you! Although you have to help me…"

"Fine Pinkie, you play, dirty but I'll go along with it. What do you want me to do?"

"Well because you 'saved' Sasuke, he owes you right? Well tomorrow at the exam tell him that to pay you back he has to…kiss me!" Sakura got a pink blush on her face and her eyes were dazzling with stars in them. Maho could only snort as she tried to hold in her snort of laughter. With this, Sakura stopped her daydreaming and glared at Maho, hand gripping the edge of the door, about to shut it.

"Hey, hey, hey wait! I'll tell him tomorrow, okay? After all 3 of us have done our tests and we wait to be put into teams. That's if I pass…which I will do with your help. Think about it; if I don't pass, I'll never be able to tell him!" Maho said slyly as she rolled her eyes slowly, hands behind her back, lips pursed in an innocent smile.

"Maho, that's mean! You turned my own bribe back onto me!"

"Did not."

"Did too"

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did not."

Maho smirked, folding my arms across my chest when Sakura tried to trick me. HA! Like I'd fall for that! "Why thank you for agreeing with me! Now will you help me before it gets any later?" She asked.

"Fine, I can't believe I fell for that. Dad, tell Mom that I'm going out!" She shouted into her house before slipping on her sandals and walking out the door with Maho following closely behind.

"I can't feel my legs, arms, head, hands, butt, or anything for that matter! That Sakura fights dirty, making me do the same damn thing over, over, over, over, over, over and over aga-oh gomen I didn't see you!" Maho walked along the road, rubbing her arms, and stopped and she felt a figure brush past her hand. She smiled as she noticed Shikamaru standing there with his hands in his pockets; he smiled back when he saw it was her.

"No problem, you always were pretty un-coordinated, lazy, and air-headed." The Nara boy teased with a soft smile.

The sore and tired girl simply just glared at her friend, continuing to hold her hurting arm as the two stood there. "You're so lucky I'm tired and beat up because if I wasn't, right now you'd be a bloody pulp on that floor!"

"Maho, we all know that's impossible because no matter how beat up, injured, or dead you are, you still manage to destroy people with your words; you're just troublesome like that! But why are you beat up, anyways?"

"Two words: Haruno Sakura." Maho grumbled, turning her head to the side and glaring out at nothing in particular.

"You two got into a fight? Bet it was over that Sasuke!"

"We didn't get into a fight and even if it was over the Uchiha, I'd be the one to walk away victorious while she could do nothing but helplessly fall to the ground, depressed and alone with nothing but the cold, violent rain pouring onto her head, knowing he's a selfish, arrogant, annoying, self-obsessed jerk with nothing better to do than break young girls hearts! Right, uh…what was I saying?" The passionate rant quickly ended, only to have the orange haired girl look over at Shikamaru with a sheepish grin, scratching at the back of her head.

"Why you're beat up? Man…I'll be sure to ask you for help if I ever write _the_ most depressing novel in the world!" The Nara heir sighed, shaking his head. Seriously, that girl never changed.

"Oh! I was really desperate and got into some 'trouble' with Sasuke and co. at the training grounds so I didn't actually learn anything…So I just had to ask Sakura for help…and man does she fight dirty. Maybe it was because I'm so clever and she was annoyed because I turned her own bribe back on her! Ah ha! Teaches her right!"

"Okay…you lost me at 'didn't actually learn anything'. You're so troublesome at trying to explain simple things." Just as Maho was about to make a retort, her head throbbed in pain as her headache grew; all thanks to Sakura who had been shouting orders into her ear. It was all the Haruno's fault that Maho was feeling so horrible now! Now, generally Maho wouldn't have bothered to heed her mother's advice and get someone to walk her home; she was strong enough to take care of herself, something she prided herself in and her friends had always respected her strength. Though, with the way she was feeling…

With a sigh, Maho reluctantly turned to Shikamaru, giving him a sour look, "Shikamaru, you know how much my mother worries about me right? She said I had to get a 'boy' or 'teacher' to walk me home because it's late. I'm not feeling up to going alone, so would you mind? You don't have too, I know you'd just think it was-,"

"Troublesome? Yeah, but I don't mind if it's for a friend, right? Besides your mom's cool, might as well talk to her a bit. I'm only out because my mom was annoying me…I hate how tough my dad acts, then as soon as she asks him something, he'll do it straight away! I'm never going to marry a woman like that!" Shikamaru explained as he turned around to face the same way that Maho was. The both of them began to walk forward and Maho just smiled at his kindness and followed. _He acts like he doesn't care, but he really does sometimes! Haha, what a softie~_

"Oh and how do you know there's a girl out there who would be able to put up with you?" Maho laughed and lightly hit Shikamaru in the arm. She prayed he wouldn't do it back; she might faint if he did, she was seriously that tired and bruised. Honestly, how did training for the Clone Jutsu get so rough?

"Because I think technically, there's someone out there for everyone; even if they've never met that person or completely hate that person, they could always date or marry other people, but they'd never be truly happy or would always wonder 'was there somebody better out there for me?' or 'do I really, truly love this person'? That person could even be living right under their nose and they'll never realize it until something major happens, like they move away and they realize that they miss them more than anyone else does or if they die and the person could've been a happy, cheerful person before, but after that they're destroyed or always feel empty. You following me?" Maho's mouth slightly turned up at the end as she carefully watched the shapes Shikamaru's mouth made, his facial expressions and the movements he made with his hands, she watched admiringly with sparkling eyes.

"Yeah, most of it…" And she did get it. Basically, you just never know who makes you the happiest person alive until it might be too late. How sad would that be if you didn't realized you loved someone until they were gone?

"Well, to sum it up, here's an example: I bet every single one of Sasuke's fan-girls would still act the same if he died. Sure they'd be upset for a few weeks, but they would always return to their normal state; if he moved away they'd get over it eventually." Shikamaru paused slightly and looked at Maho, smirking and laughing a little as he could see the distant look in her eyes, smirk and hands tapping against each other evilly.

"Ugh…I lost you after 'I bet every single one of Sasuke's fan-girls would still act the same if he died' didn't I? And just then you were imagining several scenarios of his death, accidental and purposely?" Shika asked with a raised eyebrow. Maho turned to him, shocked with wide-eyes and an open mouth, though she still managed to hold a hint of that smirk.

"Wow Shikamaru, I didn't know you were _so_ smart that you could read minds!"

"Haha very funny! So what was your favorite version of his death? Wait, am I really having this conversation with somebody?" Shikamaru replied; mostly too himself, head in hands.

"Well Sasuke was walking along a long, grassy field, when all of a sudden a giant great-white shark appeared and bit off both his hands, he then carried on walking and I appeared out of no-where with a comb trying to comb his stupid duck-butt hair, he screamed in agony as I shoved a mirror in his face and he sees his hair is all nice and neat and the back of his hair was shaved off because, well, no one can tame that hair of his! Then he'd be running away from me like a squealing little girl and he doesn't notice at the end of a field is a cliff. He then falls off and is caught by a ton of fan-girls, thanking them; but they take him to their 'cave' and smother him with their fangirlness, eventually forcing him to gauge his eyes out with a spork so he doesn't have to look at them. Then he runs out the cave and lands in a pool of piranhas, me laughing mechanically over him as he sinks to the bottom." Maho finished with a huge breath and looked at Shikamaru with a look of excitement, who was staring at the red-head in horror. Maho burst into laughter at the expression Shikamaru was still holding, but when he didn't react, or even tell her she was messed up like he usually did when she told him of her fantasies of killing someone she hated, she wondered why and turned her head away from her friend and in front of her. There in front of the pair was Uchiha Sasuke, causally sitting on a fence post, arms crossed and a straight expression.

"Awkward…" Shikamaru murmured as Maho glared at the boy duck-ass.

"Okay, seriously dude one word. I'll say it slowly so you can comprehend it: stalk-er." The small girl huffed up at the boy, glaring her brilliant green eyes.

"Hn, that's a bit of a big word for you, isn't it Igashowa?" Sasuke replied as stuck his nose up in the air like the little snob that he is and returning the glare full force.

"Wow, Uchiha don't hurt yourself! That's nearly two whole sentences in less than twenty-four hours! Oh wait, sorry, I forgot you only understand the language of 'fangirl', so let me try again. Ahem! Wow Sasuke-kuuuuuuun, you're _so_ awesome, seriously! How did you come up with such a _great_ insult; must've taken a lot of brains, which I'm sure you have judging by the size of your _huge_ ego! Oh my genin, you know my name too? If you know my name, you MUST be in love with me!" Maho finished, immediately going back to her normal self. Obviously feeling like this was just a waste of time –not to mention he had no good comeback- he sighed in annoyance.

"At least I'm not the one that looks like I got dragged through a hedge backwards!" The Uchiha couldn't allow the small girl to have the last comeback, so he shot back another retort.

Maho, however, threw her arms up into the air over dramatically. "Oh snap, there he goes again; the come-back queen! I'll have you know I look like this because I've been training for the exam tomorrow! I didn't get a chance earlier today because I was too busy playing around with you and your little 'crew'."

"Like I care if you pass or not." He scoffed.

"Yeah, whatever, just go jump off a cliff. I'm sure the fangirls are already waiting for you!" Maho said, her voice and smile appearing all too sweet.

"Come on Maho, your mom's probably worried." Shikamaru sighed, tired of listening to the two classmates egg each other on.

"Ugh…Sometimes she actually acts like how my _real_ mother probably should!" Maho groaned, letting her head fall backwards to look up at the sky, ignoring the chicken-ass.

"She technically _is_ your real mother, Maho; she was there for you when your real mother left you, and she's looked after you when your real mother and father are probably off around the world, making a new family; forgetting about you when your adoptive mother can _only_ think about you!" Shikamaru pointed out, scowling at his childish friend.

"True…I suppose I love her more than my real mother and father. Selfish idiots, shouldn't even be able to live near kids…" Maho and Shikamaru continued their conversation as they walked down the road, forgetting Sasuke was even there and left him to think. He watched the two friends retreat, a pang of jealousy rising up in his chest. _NO why does she do that? We clearly hate each other! Stupid girls, I've had enough of them; their just a destraction. _He said to himself as he ignored the tiny voice right at the back of his head telling him different. Y_ou'll never get enough of that girl; you know why she has that effect on you._ He hit the back of his head with his hand and watched as she turned a corner with Shikamaru; hands in pockets. _Jealous~_

"Hn." Sasuke scoffed, jumping off the fence and walking in the opposite direction.

"I'm home and I brought a tramp with me, happy now?" Maho shouted as she entered her front door earning a hit on the back of her head from Shikamaru.

"Yup, but honey what've I told you about bringing Shikamaru home with you after finding him on the street?" Her mother entered with a smirk and then smiled at Shikamaru.

The Nara boy pouted and let out an annoyed groan, his hands digging into his pockets. "It's not even funny how you two have exactly the same personality!"

"We do not! We're totally different!" Maho and Kiohe chorused, looking at each other with shocked faces and laughed. It was then that Maho's mother noticed the bruises and mud on her daughter. "What the heck happened? You train in a swamp?"

"_Unfortunately _I _had_ to have Haruno Sakura train me…" Maho said with a frown, glaring at the ground.

"Isn't that a good thing? She's always getting high-grades."

"Oh hell no; it was _terrible_! She's an animal when it comes to concentrating! It didn't help that she hates me even more now! See, she kind of bribed me, but me-being-me, I turned it around so now I'm bribing her. That's the only thing that made it just bearable!" Maho said with a smirk. Her mother 'tutted' her and folded her arms. Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, the red-head turned her eyes to her friend, "Oh Shikamaru, your house has probably calmed down a little now. I should probably get to bed; I'm kinda tired. I'll see you tomorrow, ne?"

"Sure." Shikamaru nodded in understanding, turning to open the door, but stopped halfway when Kiohe called out to him.

"Oh Shikamaru, how's your mother? I bumped into her yesterday, but I couldn't chat for long."

"She's fine, I only came for a walk because she was ordering dad around again and I hate how he does whatever she says!"

"Oh I see. Your mother can be quite the authoritive figure, eh? I remember when we were in school, people always asked her for help to sort things out and people always wanted to be friends with her!" Kiohe sighed in bliss as she reminisced in the olden days.

"That's so true it's not even funny. Bye Maho, good luck tomorrow. Hope we can be on the same team!"

"I wish! Iruka-sensei hates me so much I'll probably end up with Ino or Sakura!" She laughed slightly as she walked over to the door behind Shikamaru.

"Mm, ja ne."

"Ja ne." After he'd walked out, she finally shut it and lent against it for a few seconds, sliding down and sitting on the floor.

Kiohe looked down at her adoptive daughter, her warm, brown eyes softening at the sight of her exhausted daughter. "Awww, is my poor baby all tired out? Got enough energy left to show me the jutsu you perfected?" Her mother asked expectantly as she helped her up.

"Fine, I guess. Let me warn you though, it's not the _best_. I'm tired and it's late."

"Yeah, yeah whatever, just show me! Nobody's perfect. I'm proud of you no matter what happens and all that!" She spoke nonchalantly, waving her hand in an uncaring fashion.

Maho deadpanned at her mother's uncaringness. Then clearing her throat, she talked in a show host's kind of voice, "And the award for most caring mother of the year goes to Kiohe Igashowa! Congratulations, any words for your adoring fans?" Maho said sarcastically and grouchily as she stood and performed Ram, Boar, Ox, Dog, Snake and Tiger hand seals.

"Clone Jutsu!" She closed her eyes and went over everything Sakura had taught her in her head. C_oncentrate really hard; you're the only person in the room. Imagine yourself in your head and then imagine two, gather your strength and chakra; make it level around your body as best you can…_ Releasing her chakra, she slowly brought her hands down and peeked around her with one eye. When she thought it looked alright, she opened the other eye to make sure.

"Yay, my clever little girl; I'm so proud to have such a cute, smart girl! And she's going to be a _ninja_, awesome!" Her mother ran up to Maho and hugged and smothered her in kisses –somewhat strangling her- while Maho tried to examine the clone as she was attacked. The clone stood next to Maho, one hand on her hip picking the dirt out of her nails, and once the original began choking and gasping for air, flailing her arms at her clone to try and get some help, the clone only did one thing: she threw her head back and began to laugh. Maho's mouth fell open in shock, not having expected her clone to be so…so… so EVIL!

The other Maho smirked at the original's condition, hands resting on her hips, "I thought you were stronger than that. Seriously, if a civilian can strangle and defeat you, you're no better than Sakura or Ino."

Maho blinked at her solid reflection, her mother finally having let her go so she could breath. Recollecting her breath, she stood to her feet, eyes unwavering from her clone. "Wow…I hate me so much…How do my friends put up with me?"

"Don't worry honey, you act _nothing_ like that. Sorta…kinda…Well, maybe a little bit. Okay, yeah, she's exactly like you."

Maho deadpanned, "Of course she's just like me; they're called _clones_ for a reason, you know." Rolling her eyes as her clone began picking dirt from under her nails again, she punched the clone and it disappeared. Then with a sigh, she fell to the floor.

"So. Tired. Can't…move. Mommy halp meeee!" Maho moaned as her mother bent down and put one of Maho's arms around her shoulder and supported her up the stairs.

"You know, this really isn't the kind of thing a pregnant women should be doing!" Her mother complained, but just smiled and laughed slightly as she heard snoring coming from her daughter. She gently put her on her bed and placed the covers over her, sighing as she saw the clock displayed 11.30pm. "She won't fancy getting up extra early for her exam tomorrow…Maybe I can make her a nice breakfast!" Her mother smiled as she shut her bedroom door and walked away; Maho snoring away happily.

**X~X~X**

"Crap, crap, crap, late, late, really late!" Maho ran around her room in a complete and un-organized panic. She quickly found her hair tie and put her hair into a thick ponytail on the back of her head, her two blue clips holding back the same two stray bangs that tried to blind her left eye while she let loose strands of her hair fall around her face, not held back. Kicking off her underwear, she pulled on a new pair and then tugged on her mesh leggings, her black skort sliding on over top. Couldn't have her bits showing during training or battle now could she. She wasn't like…Okay, that's a tad bit too harsh, even for her. Tugging on her mesh, three-quarter sleeve shirt, Maho zipped up her black, sweatshirt-like vest and tugged a black, fingerless glove onto her left hand. Then running into her bathroom, she washed her face and brushed her teeth and ran down the stairs, almost tripping over her own feet.

"Gomen, I don't have time for breakfast; I'm really late, ja ne!" Maho looked confused as she saw her mother standing in front of the door with her arms crossed and a smile on her face.

"You're not late Maho; you've got a whole hour until you get to school. I set your alarm an hour early, didn't you realize?"

The small red-head deadpanned, cursing her mother in the most horrible of ways. She woke her up a whole _**hour**_ before she actually needed to be awake? What was this blasphemy? Grumbling, Maho glared lightly –being too tired to put her whole heart into it- at her mother. "Shit, this better be a good breakfast!" Crossing her arms and pouting, Maho furrowed her eyebrows and walked into her kitchen. She poked her bruises slightly as she waited in her chair and adjusted the now apparent bandage that was on her knee. _Haruno Sakura equals dead meat!_

_30 minutes later…_

"Phew, I'm full; I didn't think that bowl would _ever_ end!" Maho chirped happily, leaning back on only two legs of the chair and rubbing her stomach contently. Kiohe smiled and laughed at her adoptive daughter's antics, and when the doorbell rang, she got up and went to the door to answer it. Though the moment they heard barking and a gruff voice respond back, both Maho and her mother both knew who it was.

"Maho, Kiba and Akamaru are here to walk to school with you!"

"Tell Kiba and Akamaru I don't want to walk to school with a bunch of _cheaters_!" Maho yelled back as she got up from her seat and made her way from her kitchen to her front porch, where she put on her knee-high, black sandals and hugged her mother. "See you later; I hope to come back with a band on my forehead!" She then smiled and walked out with Kiba, waving to her mother.

As usual, Kiba was wearing his oddly colored hoodie, Akamaru perched lazily on top of his head. The red-head had to admit, she was extremely jealous of the puppy; he just got to lay around and rest all day long while Kiba did all the work, walking and all that exhausting stuff. However, Kiba was giving his small friend a weird look, "Maho, what exactly did you mean when you said 'cheaters'?"

"You know exactly what I mean!" She snapped as she stood on her tippy-toes to get try and get eye level with Akamaru.

Not bothered by the closeness of his best friend simply because he was used to it, Kiba realized what she was talking about, "Oh _that_! We're _not_ cheating!"

Rolling her eyes, Maho back up as she had reached and petted the puppy, pulling away so they could continue walking. "Yeah, sure, I believe you Kiba. Anyways, man I'm so nervous! I so suck at this! And I found out I hate myself. Seriously, how do you guys put up with me? I'm so fucking annoying and evil!"

Kiba laughed, chorused with periodic barks from Akamaru, and whipped at his eyes, "You're just realizing you're like the devil incarnate? Jeeze, way to be slow on the times, Maho."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! At least I do have you guys; it seems like there's never a dull moment with you!" Maho smiled, waving her hand nonchalantly.

"That's because _you're_ with us." The Inuzuka said, deadpanning.

"You better fucking believe that's the reason!"

Shaking his head, Kiba decided to change the subject; no need to try and inflate the small girl's ego. That was the last thing she needed. "Why you covered in bruises?"

Maho's cheerful and hyper attitude immediately deflated at the question, her eyes looking up at the school with a harsh glare. "The exact same reason that I hate myself. Let's not talk about it, ne?"

"Uh…sure," Kiba gave Maho a confused glance as they entered the school gates and into the building, but let the subject drop.

**Oh hot damn, I'm on a roll. All of a sudden I got this gigantic urge to write in this story! So I've almost finished editing the rest of the pre-written chapters. Even more good news is that, once I finish chapter 5, 6 and 7 will be posted simultaneously! Woot woot! Hopefully the more chapters I get going, the more readers will want to read this story. I'm just uber excited for this story! I've already started planning out Shippuden, even though THAT is very very very very far away xD Anyways! Tootaloos!**

**Kago of the Funk**


	5. Critical Exam

_Critical Exam_

Maho entered the classroom, only to be met with loud, random blabbering in her ears. It was easy enough to notice how everyone was nervous, jumping up and down in their seats and not being able to keep still; she even got a strong scent of sweat as she walked past one guy. She just politely smiled and held her breath as she walked past him, trying to suppress the compulsion to twitch. Hinata and the rest of her friends were sat in the usual seats in the back corner and she smiled at them, walking up to the bench; however, as she walked past one particular row, she noticed Sasuke glance over at her for a second before turning to his original position with his chin resting on his hands, elbows on the desk; probably happy that he knew what the bruises and bandage were from. Unfortunately, she _also_ noticed two strong glares from a pink and blonde haired duo who sat on the bench behind him. Maho smirked as she walked past, but when Sakura winked and gave her thumbs up, glancing over to Sasuke, it was then she remembered. _Geez, that stupid bribe; which I happily turned back onto Sakura ha! But still, I _really _don't want to do this. Hey, on the plus side, at least I get to see Sasuke embarrassed, or even better yet, humiliated! _Maho thought over the night before and remembered the pathetic blush that appeared on Sakura's face after she stated her proposal. Nodding to the pink-haired girl to acknowledge that she knew what she had to do, she turned her head back to her friends and continued on, followed by Kiba and Akamaru.

"Hey guys, nervous yet?" Maho asked as she sat on Hinata's desk, crossing one leg over the other; Kiba taking a seat on the bench in front of Hinata's.

"Nah, this exam is so troublesome, but pretty easy. Who wants to be a ninja anyway?"

"Y…yes. I j…just hope you and N…Naruto do well,"

"Not for me and Akamaru, no sweat!"

"I'm fine as long as I have my lucky bag of chips!"

"That's alright then, because I have confident friends to be nice to me when I fail or give me a bear hug when I come out. You fancy taking up that offer, Akamaru?" Maho asked Akamaru with a smile and laughed when he growled. "Oh right, sorry Akamaru, I'll change it to a puppy hug not a bear hug, ne?" With a bark in response, Maho laughed while Akamaru happily nuzzled into Kiba's clothes. Iruka had walked in without her noticing, however, and shouted, slamming a few books on the table, in turn making Maho's head snap around so fast that she got a sharp pain in her neck. "AH! Dammit, Iruka-sensei, don't scare me like that! Do you want me to die before the exam?" Maho exclaimed, rubbing her neck to try and ease the pain.

"Of course not; I just want you to be quiet and behave."

"Wow, I have the nicest sensei in the world." maho replied with a sweatdrop as she took a proper seat next to Hinata behind the bench.

"Okay, today is the day of your final exam which will determine if you graduate to become a ninja. I know a lot of you are probably very nervous, but don't worry, it'll all be relatively easy; you will all have to perform the clone jutsu." As if thinking the same thing at the same time Naruto and maho pulled the same facial expression _Clone jutsu, the one think I'm not very good at!_ "When your names are called please come into the next room to take your exam. When you are done you may leave. First up is…Inuzuka Kiba, follow me." Kiba stood up from his seat and left with Iruka, saluting Maho on his way out which made her roll her eyes. With the teacher, gone she sat back up on the desk again, facing the front.

"Oh Hinata, I'm going to fail, I know it! Even if I do pass I'll probably on the same team as a dork that I hate and none of you guys!" The ginger pouted with an annoyed expression on her face.

Shikamaru, however, let out an annoyed sigh at his friend's whining, lightly glaring at the girl. "Stop worrying, you are so troublesome geez. You were up training all last night right? Plus you said your mother thinks you've gotten better; what's there to worry about if you can make clones? That's all you have to do!"

Turning her head and blinking at the dark-haired boy, Maho's lips lifted into a smirk, "Yeah, you're right; I mean, I worked so hard, how could I _not_ pass? I've got this nailed down! Just watch, I'll even do better than the chicken-ass!" Shikamaru, Chouji and Hinata sweat-dropped with blank faces as they stared at Maho who was laughing manically, stars in her eyes as she continued on with her fantasy. She then stopped laughing and turned around awkwardly as she noticed everyone was staring at her. Giving a slightly embarrassed chuckle, the ginger scratched the back of her head. Opening her eyes, she managed to catch a glimpse of Sasuke watching her, although he quickly shot his eyes in the direction of the opening door, as did Maho. An extremely happy and energetic Inuzuka Kiba jumped in and approached her the light red-head.

"Maho, I passed, look! Whoa, this is so cool; I'm so excited, and I've got to go and tell my mom and my sister! Maybe I'll see you later!" Kiba who was smiling with his fangs showing, proudly produced the hitai-ate in his hand, then turned to the door and ran out of the school again. Maho watched him out of the window as he ran out the school gate still very happy and headed down the road to his house, her light green eyes holding an unusually soft gaze to them. She smiled to herself and day-dreamed, ignoring the names being called; the people who passed running in smiling showing their head-bands to their friends. She didn't even notice her friends talking to her, or the odd glare from Uchiha Sasuke, and was only snapped out of it when she heard the door slam very loudly. Jumping slightly, she looked out to the window a little stirred and noticed a depressed, upset and crushed Naruto walk and sit down on the swing, one leg on and holding onto the rope on the side. All the other graduates who were outside were far too happy and busy to noticed him; all engrossed in their own conversations. All the while, Naruto was fading into the shadows by the trees. Maho frowned sadly and wished she could've jumped out the window there and then and slapped some sense into him; however, her name was called next. Giving a final look out the window in Naruto's direction, she noticed there were only 3 people left in the room with her; 3 people that she didn't really know too well.

"Coming sensei," Maho said politely as she followed Iruka into the next room, her heart racing a thousand beats a minutes. Her knees shook at little and she went dizzy, she even felt her body heat up rapidly, which was really unusual because Maho had never one to be nervous, or show it if she ever felt it. Iruka quickly noticed the change in his student's behavior, her jagged breathing pattern giving revealing her apprehension, and he gave her a warm smile and spoke to start the exam.

"Maho, just do your best."

Closing her eyes and taking in a very deep breath, Maho narrowed her focus onto the task at hand, calming her frayed nerves. Snapping her brilliant green eyes open, the sharp determination that was always present returned, a confident smirk gracing her lips. "Well of course, Iruka-sensei; I wouldn't give you anything less." Her body could finally move as she saw the warming smile on Iruka's face. Bowing politely, she closed her eyes. _Concentrate; pretend I'm in my room at home or in front of mom. Just try as hard as I can, if I fail I can always try again next year… Oh what am I thinking? Pass so I can be with my friend! Stay with them…but what about Naruto… _Her heart-beat was like thunder in her ears, but she forced herself to ignore it, and placing her hands together, she tried to gather her energy and chakra equally around her body as best she could, like Sakura had taught her and like she had done in front of her mother the previous night."Clone jutsu!" Maho exclaimed, the sound of a 'POP' cracked through the air and just as she opened her eyes the smoke on both of her sides began to dissipate. Trying to hold back a grin, Maho wanted to brag about how awesome she was and how it was so easy, and how she had never really been nervous. Turning to face her senseis, Maho eagerly watched their expressions; they looked half-impressed and it was either half-shocked or half-disappointed she couldn't tell. Not being able to hold in her anticipation any longer she turned her head left and expected her clones. Both were an exact mirror image of her; she even got the mole next to her left eye down perfectly! Oh she was so join to pa-

"You only created two clones."

Blinking, Maho slowly turned her head to look at Irkua with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

The brunette gave her a serious look, his elbows resting on the surface of the desk, "You only created two clones while all the other students had been able to make three complete replications." He explained.

Maho simply stood there, jaw hanging open as she stared at Iruka in shock, not knowing how to react; all that hard work and effort, all that _progress_ that she had made and she still wasn't going to pass? "What? Are you telling me that I'm not passing because I _missed_ a clone?" The ginger's usual tenor voice rose up a few octaves until it became a screech. Mizuki had too turned to look at his comrade in surprise, an unsure and questioning look on his face.

Iruka, however, continued to stare her down, no hint of humor in his expression. "I am saying you, Igashowa Maho, hereby pass your graduation exam. Congratulations you're an official Konoha genin." Iruka's expression faltered and an amused smile took the place of the scary-serious. Blinking in utter confusion, Maho's green eyes narrowed into a glare as she stomped up to her sensei's desk and slammed her hands on the table, glowering over at the man who laughed in amusement. "That's what you get for all the trouble you've given me! But you deserve this, Maho. I'm sure your mother will be proud of you." The kind smile Iruka gave Maho made the orange-haired girl stand back up straight and smile in return, holding no ill feelings over the joke Maho knew she deserved. Bowing to show her thanks, she took the new hitai-ate that was handed to her, running her fingers across the silver plate on the front; the engraved Konoha symbol on top of it, and smiled victoriously. Maho had put so much thought into what she was going to do next and she immediately knew where to tie it. _I want something different…it just seems right to me to be different…_ Maho remembered the conversation she had with herself in her head the past nights and brought her hands down to her left thigh. Since her skirt was mid-thigh and there was only fish-nets on underneath she though it would go perfectly on her left-thigh, then she'd be representing Konoha on one leg and have all her weapons and kunai to protect herself on the other. She tied it tight into a knot, but not so tight it would cut off the circulation and smiled proudly as Iruka gave her a knowing look with a smirk. "That's just like you, Igashowa; always trying to be different, ne?"

"Psh, honestly, did you expect anything else from me? I'm going to miss you, Iruka-sensei, you know me so well, ha, ha! See you tomorrow for when we're put into teams, but right now I need to go check on Naruto, ja ne!" She then turned into a run and left down the corridor going straight outside and pushing herself through the hoard of happy twelve year-old kids.

"Why is she checking on Naruto? He'll be fine; she hasn't seemed to care about anyone before anyways." The oddly colored-haired man

"Mizuki, have you never heard that saying 'never judge a book by its cover'?" Iruka asked, slightly turning to look at his friend. In response, the man simply let out a sigh, pushing himself up to his feet and out of his chair as he moved to call in the next student, not bothering to answer the question. Iruka just shook his head with a soft smile, looking off in the direction the ginger had left in."A tough-girl on the outside, but a soft, caring girl on the inside…"

**X~X~X**

Maho looked left and right, pushing herself out of the crowd of nattering genin and brushed the imaginary dirt off her clothes once she was out, glancing over her shoulder at the crowd and shooting them a glare. Honestly, some people were just so rude! Her eyes went straight to the swing and surprisingly enough, a heart-broken Naruto still sadly swinging on it. She could hear some of the horrible things that the adults were saying along with the dirty looks they were giving him and how Naruto was staring at the ground, no doubtfully able to hear everything that they were saying. Now, normally Maho was respectful to strangers and to those who she didn't know, or wasn't close to, but when other were hurtful and disrespectful to others, especially to those who don't deserve it… Her fists balled up and with anger blazing in her eyes, Maho walked straight up to the two her were loudly whispering to each other.

"Hey, bitch, do you mind? That's one of my friends you're bitching about. So I suggest you stop what your talking about because if I ever catch you shit-talking about one of my friends again, I will come and find you, and that's a promise. No one, _no one_ makes fun of my friends and family and gets away with it, because without them I'd probably be dead. Yeah that's right, I'd probably be dead and not the person I am today, so frankly I think you should be trying to hang on to your friends not _losing_ them by talking shit behind people's backs and showing just how ugly you really are, got it?" Maho took a deep-breath and shook her head to toss her bangs out of her eyes, not realizing she'd been shaking them in fury and emitting a rather frightening aura. No one had seemed to see the small girl's enraged rant but the two it was intended for and they stared at her with wide eyes, completely taken back by the ginger's ferociousness. Apparently they didn't know how to react to such a direct confrontation and they turned and walked away, sparing a few glances at the glaring Maho.

Green eyes followed the women until they blended in with the crowd, her eyes slowly shifting through the crowd for any sight of them. She wanted to make sure they were gone and weren't going to bother Naruto anymore; he didn't need that shit, especially today. Satisfied when she couldn't point them out of the crowd, she went to turn and walk over to Naruto, but her eyes caught someone's gaze, which belonged to Sasuke. He was at the outer edge of the group, trying to keep to himself even though the fan-girls were ever drawing nearer. Having caught him staring, she simply stared back and to her surprise, the hint of emotion in his eyes wasn't one of annoyance or dislike; it was one of understanding and maybe… respect? Not knowing what else to do, the ginger gave him a slight nod before her head turned from him to her true objection; that being now a very depressed orange ninja. However though, she looked around with wide-eyes, frantic and panicked as he was no longer there, but instead the wind slowly caressed the seat and made it swing back and forth, like a boat on water. What the duce? Where did he go! Seriously, had he missed her rant on his defense? A bright smudge caught her attention from the corner of her eyes and she noticed Uzumaki Naruto walking out of the school gates and about to turn around a corner, the tiniest, most minute hint of a true smile plastered onto his face. Letting her shoulders sag as the tension in her body was released, Maho smiled to herself, content with her day's work. It was time to go home and brag to her mother about her awesomeness at being a ninja now. She smirked and made her way out of the gate, except ready to turn a different way for her home; unfortunately, she was called to a stop before she could walk out of the gates.

"Hey, Maho!" Rolling her eyes, Maho balled her fists as she heard a certain pink-haired kunoichi call her name, taking a deep-breath to calm herself and not punch her in the face, placing a look of fake cheerfulness on her face as she turned around.

"What is it Haruno?"

"Make sure you don't forget about our promise!" Maho caught the slightest nod of Sakura's head towards Uchiha Sasuke and nodded in compliance.

"Aa, will do…" With that she winked and smirked, knowing the next day was going to be even more exciting than the present one. The sky tinted slightly orange in the sky in front of her as her hitai-ate caught the light, reflecting the Konoha symbol back to the sky…


	6. Team Announcements

_Team Announcements_

-Beep, beep, beep-

"Ugh!"

-Beep, beep, beep-

"I heard you the first 6 freaking tim-,"

-Beep, beep, be-

"Fucking alarm clock!" Kaede fell out of her bed as she reached her arm out to stop the incessant ringing in her ears. She brushed her hands down her purple camisole and white, decorated girls' boxers briefly as she then quickly slammed her clock on the floor making it split into little pieces, she then stood on it once more and leaned over it with her arms crossed.

"Want a piece of me punk, huh?" That was when Kaede's mother came rushing through the door with a worried look on her face.

"Oh Kaede are you okay? I heard banging and screaming and smashing…and it was just you waking up…Kae' that's the _eleventh_ alarm clock you've broken this month!" Her mother came in slightly alarmed but as she situation registered and made itself known in her head she grew slightly bored, she just watched as her daughter shrugged her shoulders and put her hands on her hips.

"Then maybe _you_ should start waking me up!"

"What are you serious? And end up on the floor beaten and bruised like that alarm clock? No thank you, hurry and get dressed technically your graduation isn't complete yet and I want you to make the best impression on your new sensei and team members!"

"I will it'll be fine…I mean…I think…I had just better shut up and get changed…"

"Good morning Ino-_pig,"_

"Good morning _Forehead-girl,"_

"Sasuke will be sat all on his own today at school, I'm making sure I get there early so I can sit next to him!" Sakura said as she had stopped and banged into Yamanaka Ino on her way to school.

"No _I'm_ going to be the one sitting next to him!"

"No _I _will!"

"Not if I get there first!" Ino ran off at top speed the rest of the way to her school with Sakura on hot-pursuit not caring if they knocked someone over; and leaving a huge trail of dust behind them.

"Another _entertaining_ day at school today I think…especially with that stupid bribe I have to do…although it will be hilarious when Sasuke says no or dies from shock ha, ha!" Kaede slid her classroom door open and walked straight past where Naruto would usually sit with her head bowed down '_Poor Naruto…he didn't pass' _she thought briefly not even noticing that the boy was actually _sitting_ there, proudly wearing a hitai-ate.

"Morning Kaede,"

"Morning Naruto!" Kaede said like an almost automatic gesture, thinking nothing of it and still half-asleep she carried on walking up to her bench and then took a seat next to Hinata yawning, Kiba whispered to Shikamaru behind her.

"How long do you think it will take for her to notice Naruto is _actually here_ Shikamaru?"

"Not sure, this girl can be a ditz and a genius all in one day it could be in maybe two-,"

"Naruto, why the heck are you here?" Shikamaru stopped as he was interrupted by Kaede's scream.

"0 seconds…" Shikamaru finished his sentence not surprised in the least as he watched Kaede run down frantically to Naruto and shake him by his collar several times and rub her eyes.

"Can't you see this hitai-ate on my fore-head? I graduated!" Naruto said _very_ proudly as he ran his thumb across the metal plate.

"Zoh my god! that's awesome Naruto, I'm so proud of you!" Kaede said happily with a smile as she gave Naruto a high-five.

"Kaede, why do you have your hitai-ate on your…leg?"

"Just wanted to be different…you know me he, he!" Kaede stated laughing as she did so, she then went and took her seat back next to Hinata; which was one behind Naruto as everyone heard 2 pairs of running foot-steps, at the exact same time Ino and Sakura entered the class-room door panting and exhausted.

"Sasuke!" They both shouted at the same time as they made there way over to his bench to sit down, they were too busy fighting for one of them to actually _sit._ Kaede watched with amusement as the two scrapped and how Sasuke didn't look like he even cared in the slightest, then her face turned to one of shock as every other girl in the room apart from Hinata and herself stood up and started fighting and arguing about who should sit next to Sasuke. She was shocked to see Naruto get up and go and stand on Sasuke's desk and kneel down right in front of his face.

"Why are you so popular? I don't see what makes you better than everyone else! I will beat you!"

"Hn," Naruto and Sasuke then began glaring at each-other and Kaede couldn't help but smile at the two; fighting exactly like brothers would.

"Whoops, sorry Naruto," A boy said who was sat in front of Sasuke and had accidently banged into Naruto pushing him forward. Time seemed to slow, Kaede's eyes widened bigger than her head as the scene un-folded in front of her, Naruto was pushed forward enough that there wasn't any time for him to stop himself, he then accidently touched lips with Sasuke; kissing him. '_Hmm…why does this scene feel familiar to me?_' Kaede thought as she stroked her chin. She then watched as both boys widened there eyes with such facial expressions she wished she had a camera. Kaede watched in utter hysterics as they wiped their mouths, coughing and spitting, all the fan-girls that had stopped and finally gone quiet to watch the scene had now resorted to screaming and shouted.

"How dare you steal Sasuke's first kiss Naruto that was meant to be me today!" Sakura screamed loud, above the rest.

"Naruto you're dead!" The girls cries rang-out in the room and they were just about to charge when Kaede jumped over the desks and stood on the same one Naruto was stood on, she stood in front of him with one hand signalling 'stop' and one on her hip.

"Excuse me ladies, but what makes you think that was Uchiha's first kiss?" A chorus of 'huh?' and 'What?' ran through the room. Kaede looked down to Sasuke who had a shocked face as well, Kaede smirked at him and looked back up.

"Well? If he's such the 'hunk' you make him out to be, surely he's already been kissed by tonnes of girls? Heck, I bet he's even got his own calendar at home with every girl in schools face on and he's ticking them off as he goes along! But you know the _one_ face that will never get ticked? None other than Hyuuga Hinata, because she's far too mature to have some stupid obsession with a boy…no wait a second…Naruto doesn't count!"

"Gee thanks Kaede," Naruto said sarcastically.

"Well what about you then Kaede? I thought you and Sasuke were enemies, are you saying he'd want to kiss someone like _you?_" Ino said laughing, because to her that was just too hard to imagine. Kaede was a little hurt by Ino's laughter and looked down at her feet.

"No I'm not saying that…" '_If you only knew…I've kissed him, if only you knew...'_

"What, then you mean you've _already_ kissed him? Don't be stupid, that only happens in your pathetic little dreams Kaede," Kaede's confidence melted away, she had originally come up to insult Sasuke and make fun of him but those taunts were a little too much. Kaede bent her knees and was ready to jump down from her desk and run out from humiliation when three voices were heard above all the rest.

"Back off okay!" Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji shouted loudly, almost growling, they wouldn't let anyone talk to their friend that way; especially after her speech the day before. Nobody had noticed Uchiha Sasuke's mouth half open, it would've been a strange outburst, what the girls had said to Kaede had angered him too and it had been gradually building up, he meant to keep it to himself but it gradually forced it's way through his lips, and for some odd reason the fact she denied that she _did_ kiss him the other day was doing him a favour and not doing him a favour at the same time, it was nice of her and a favour because she'd said no, his fan-girls wouldn't keep asking him about it. In a way it was hurting him because for some very odd reason, deep, deep down inside of him he _wanted_ people to know that she'd taken his first kiss. Yamaguchi Kaede. That girl. He was going to be the one to rescue Kaede from her bullying by telling all the other girls to stop, however her friends, her _real _friends had stepped in before him, he closed his mouth un-sure of whether to be angry or relieved he didn't have to say anything. Iruka then walked into the class-room which was when he saw all the girls with particularly angry faces, Kaede looking like she was going to die from humiliation, Naruto looked like he was going to throw-up, Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru with angry, annoyed faces, all the while Sasuke keeping his calm face.

"Now, now class, settle down, girls back in your seats you as well Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru, I don't know what just happened here but keep it to yourselves or outside of the classroom, ne?" Iruka had come in so suddenly and begun speaking that Naruto and Kaede were both so shocked they fell off the desk they were stood on and into the closest seat; next to Sasuke who was sat by the window. Kaede landed next to him whilst Naruto was next to her, Kaede shoved Naruto so he'd move up and she could wriggle away from being so close to Sasuke; it made her feel uncomfortable and her stomach feel empty in a sickly way, she pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on the backs of her hands which were rested on top of her knees. She then turned her attention to the pink-haired kunoichi still standing, all the other girls had taken the seats and the only one left was next to Naruto, Kaede could see she was trying desperately not to sit there and look for somewhere else to sit.

"For crying out loud Haruno, just sit next to Naruto theres nothing wrong with him, look perfectly clean!" Kaede said with a grin as she hit him on the shoulder; then rested one arm on his shoulder and kept it there, Naruto didn't have any objections and neither did she '_dang this is comfy…I wonder what Sasuke would do if I did it to hi-.' _She hadn't realised but as she was thinking it Kaede began to lift her arm towards Sasuke's shoulder; he had stopped her mid-thought and grabbed her hand placing it back on her knees.

"Don't even think about it Kaede," '_Why did she try to do that? We hate each other, although I…I…probably wouldn't have minded, if she was just doing it for a joke…' _Sasuke thought as he watched her reply to his statement.

"Ugh whatever Uchiha, you're more likely the one to have a disease than Naruto anyway!"

"Don't say that about Sasuke, Kaede!"

"Pfft, what's wrong with telling the truth? My mom is always telling me to say it like it is!" Kaede argued to Sakura with a smirk, although her attention turned to Iruka who was now stood right in front of her an angry look on his face, Kaede yelped and pulled her arm from Naruto's shoulder and back on the desk, she also then put her feet down and rested her elbows on the desk, she cupped her face in her hands and smiled sweetly, blinking her eyes vastly.

"Konnichiwa Iruka-sensei, what brings you over here? Come here often?"

"Focus Yamaguchi, I'm just about to announce the teams!"

"Right, fine, go ahead, I know I'm going to be with idiots I don't even like anyway…because you've never liked me Iruka-sensei and it's your way at getting back at me…" She said in a knowing voice nodding her head as she spoke.

"I won't like you if you keep talking to me like that, now sit properly and focus!"

"Sure," Iruka-sensei then walked away from her desk and back to his desk, picking up a sheet of paper and scanning the class, when she was sure her sensei wasn't looking she sat back and placed her feet on the surface in front of her, she looked at Naruto he giggled at her slightly; doing the same, they then sat there and played thumb wars until their teacher started to talk.

"Okay, due to odd numbers of applicants to the academy this year, there will have to be one team of four, this won't cause much in-convenience and don't think that it isn't fair because one team will be stronger, that is not the case as all of the teams have different abilities which makes them strong in their own ways, team 1 will be made up of…"

"Why did Iruka-sensei look at me when he said about the odd numbers?" Kaede whispered to Naruto behind her hand.

"Maybe because you're one of the people in the team of four," He whispered back, as they both watched 3 teams 1 girl and two boys head up to the front and out the room.

"Team four will be made up of…"

"I'm hungry, I want ramen after this!"

"Naruto, I'm sure you've only just had breakfast! However I will take you up on that ramen offer, ne?"

"I had ramen and some old milk, fine…you're paying though I have _no_ money…"

"Pfft, looks like we'll be asking my mother for some money then because I'm broke at the moment too!" They both sighed at the same time sitting back and crossing their arms pouting.

"You're both so immature," Sasuke said under his breath, of course Sakura shortly followed.

"Yeah, grow up!" She said almost un-convincingly as she whispered, as if she was thinking something very different on the inside.

"Why don't you grow up and make some friends and why don't you grow up and start thinking and saying things for yourself?" She hissed as she directed one part of her sentence at the raven-haired boy next to her and the other part at the perky girl on the other side of Naruto.

"Next 7th group, Uzumaki Naruto, Yamaguchi Kaede…" Naruto and Kaede stood up and gave each other high-fives smiling.

"Frak yeah!" They both said at the same time as Iruka coughed, they sat down quietly and he continued with team 7's team members.

"Haruno Sakura," Kaede's head instantly dropped and depressing auras came off her head, as did Sakura's, however Naruto had jumped up once again, happy that he had one of his best friends and his crush in the same team as him.

"And the final member of Team 7, Uchiha Sasuke," This time it was Sakura's turn to jump for joy, she smiled and jumped in the air glaring at Ino before she sat down, Naruto and Kaede's heads dropped for the final time today, except this time Kaede's head actually _dropped_ onto the desk, she then shot up when her head made contact with the hard material.

"Why me what have I done to deserve such cruel punishment, huh? Naruto, I'm totally fine with, Sakura, I can just about put up with but not Sakura _and _Uchiha! Iruka-sensei, move me into a team with Hinata or Kiba, one of my friends at least!"

"I'm sorry this is the one team of four and it can't be changed now, be thankful you have at least one of your friends with you!"

"Fine," She sighed in defeat crossing her arms and dropping back in her seat, staring at Sasuke as she did.

"Team 8, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino," Hinata looked disheartened at the fact she wasn't with Naruto, Kiba smirked as his name was announced and Shino merely nodded in acknowledgement.

"Team 9 will be…" Kaede was deep in thought as she glared at the Uchiha next to her. _I knew I'd get put with someone I hate…ugh so annoying, why can't I be with Hinata and Kiba? _

"Team 10, Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji," Sakura turned around to Ino and stuck her tongue out giving her a peace sign, it was almost as if her inner-self was saying different.

"Ha, because we're in the same team means I'm just as smart as you Sasuke; I will definitely beat you now!"

"Yeah and because I'm with you Sakura that means I'm just as smart!" Kaede replied, sticking her tongue out at the girl.

"Actually Kaede, Naruto, like I said at the beginning the teams are mixed with strength and intelligence. Sasuke has the highest class score, while Naruto, you have the worst. Sakura had the highest female test scores…" Pinkie smirked at that comment and stuck her nose high up into the air with a victorious smirk. _Stupid bitch._ "But she had a very poor score in strength and combatting. Maho, on the other hand, may have had lowest female test scores, but she was one of the best female fighters." This time Maho was the one smirking as Sakura hung her head in shame. The entire class chuckled at their outbursts, but Maho just folded her arms on the desk and laid her head on them, closing her eyes.

"Make sure you don't both get in my way, blockheads."

Twitching, the orange head of hair shot up, glaring at the duck ass. "Get in _your _way? Don't you mean you should stay out of _our _way?" Maho shouted, her fists balled up in anger. The little voice that usually guided people to do the right thing, yeah, it was currently shouting at her, saying _Kill, kill, kill him!_

"What did you say teme, want to fight me!" Naruto added on to the end, jumping up alongside me and pointing at Uchiha dramatically.

"I _said_ don't get in my way, blockheads. Are you hard of hearing too?" Sasuke replied, mostly to Maho; with a smirk plastered onto his face.

"Ah fuck you…" Maho growled under her breath, throwing her hand up and flicking the boy off.

"Stop it, Naruto, Maho!" Sakura scolded the two hyper shinobi.

"Gomenasai…" Naruto said finally giving up and sitting down, but Maho wouldn't go down so easily, especially to that annoying, kiss-ass pinkette.

"Shut up Sakura, since when have I listened to anything you have to say?" She snapped, angrily glaring at the smaller girl.

"Oh I don't know…last night maybe?" Sakura stood up and faced her, smirking, and in such a suggestive way that she was practically shouting out to the class that Maho begged for her help.

Letting out a frustrated groan, Maho threw her arms up into the air in defeat before falling back into her chair. "Fine, you win this one! I'll tell him when class is out…" Then slumping her shoulders and pouting beside Naruto, frowning. She thought she saw Sasuke give a soft laugh at her antics and she whacked his arm lightly.

"Who said you could laugh at me, Uchiha? Don't you think you've annoyed me enough today? It's bad enough we're on the same team together, I don't need you constantly bugging me a million times a day!"

"Actually I believe it's the other way around, you seem to annoy me more." Sasuke smirked, glancing at me from the corner of his eyes.

"I'm allowed to, I'm a girl, and we do that stuff!" Maho said smirking and stuck her tongue out at Sasuke; he simply turned his head and looked to the front again.

"That's all the teams announced for now, you may go to lunch and after you come back it should be about time for your new team leaders to arrive." Iruka then patted his papers straight on the desk and walked out, smiling as he watched the new Team 7 fight amongst themselves.

"Maho, you have to tell him now; you promised me!" Sakura pleaded as she glared at Maho, daring her to back out of their agreement.

"Alright fine, you've been bugging me about this longer than I'd like, I never break a promise." Maho, who had now climbed out of her seat, walked up to Sasuke, who was just about ready to leave the door, although he seemed lost in thought at something and was just stopped in the middle of the classroom. In truth he was thinking about Maho's very words, he'd heard a moment ago. _It's bad enough we're on the same team together… _For some reason it made him flinch a little when he thought about it, possibly because she'd shouted it so loud…or because he was actually glad she was on his team. She was one of the two girls that didn't make a fuss over him, so she wouldn't be that annoying and they got a long in a sort-of 'hate to love you, love to hate you' way; arguing was how they communicated. _I suppose it's better than just me, blockhead Naruto and overly peppy Sakura…_ He was only pulled out of his thoughts when he felt a presence near to him; re-focusing his eyes to the spring-green ones in front of his.

"Ah, so you've finally decided to come back to the real world!" The owner of the eyes, Maho, teased with a smile as she stepped back. He noticed Sakura stood behind her, which was really weird seeing as Maho hated her more than himself. _Ugh, what the hell is it now? It's not like Maho to do something like this…Then again, Sakura won't stop talking about this 'promise', but why would Maho need something from Sakura? _

"What is it now, Igashowa?"

"Well …I just thought I'd ask you if you would k…ki…" Maho stopped and swallowed, almost like it was too hard for her to say and if she did say it, she wouldn't be able to stop laughing, due to the fact that the corners of her lips were twitching. Sasuke noticed her lurch forward and realized Sakura must've hit her or nudged her to carry on. S_o this whole thing is Sakura's doing…I see…_

"I thought I'd ask you if you wanted to maybe kiss Sakura, right here, right now." Maho then had to put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing as everyone in the class said the same word.

"What?"

"Maho, why did you ask Sasuke if he'd kiss Sakura?" Naruto cried out from his seat, pulling at his hair in frustration.

"Oh just…ha, ha, thought I would try it!" She laughed and walked away from Sasuke, going over to Naruto and leaning against him for support as she bit her lip to try and keep from laughing; watching with amusement as Sakura stepped up to Sasuke with a blush on her face and her lips puckered ready. Naruto shoved his friend off of him, glaring at the red-head for purposing that his worst enemy kiss his girl crush. Whilst she did that, Sasuke replied to her question.

"No, I'd rather kiss Akamaru than you." With that he began to walk out the classroom, the whole class laughing, Sakura dropped her head to the floor and almost fell to her knees. Maho and Naruto ran forward and helped her up, watching with soft eyes as the pinkette tried to hide her sniffling. Okay, just because she despised the Haruno and was a smartass to her didn't mean Uchiha could be so cruel to her! So, Maho did something nobody expected her to: she ran after Sasuke. She wasn't sure why; she didn't like Sakura, really REALLY didn't like Sakura, a simple 'no' or even 'no thanks' would've been fine.

Growling, Maho grabbed Sasuke arm roughly and turned him around. "Hey, Uchiha, why the hell did you say that to her!" She snapped when she finally caught him up just outside the door. The ravenette was taking by surprise by the red-head's unexpected move and he stopped and turned around, raising a dark eyebrow in her direction.

"What? I didn't want to kiss her and you don't like her anyway, so why should you care?"

"Just because I can't stand her doesn't give you the right to be a douche bag; you didn't have to go that far. I know what she asked me to do was stupid and I knew you'd probably say no, but there was no harm in doing it. You should have seen the look she gave me when she asked me to do this." Shrugging, she let go of Sasuke's arm.

Uchiha narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Pfft, if you knew I would say no then why did you ask?"

"Because I _promised_ her Sasuke, that's why." With that, she turned around and made her way back into the class room, everyone staring at her when she came back in. Sasuke was left standing on the other side of the threshold, her words circling his head, which they had a tendency to do _Because I _promised_ her Sasuke, that's why…That's the first time she's called me by my real name…Why did that feel like a kick to the stomach though? All she did was say _Sasuke.Her voice said his name again and he became light-headed, resting one hand on the wall and one on his forehead. When it passed, he stood up again and walked into the fresh air. _Stupid girl, making me feel this way; making these things happen to me._ Although in the back of his head, that annoying little voice was there again, telling him that that wasn't the truth.

"There Sakura, I said it, are you happy? I knew you wouldn't get a good response and tried to do something nice for you by not telling him, but well, you didn't listen." Maho said, putting her hands up in a defensive way

"Yeah…thanks, I guess, I won't bug you about it anymore…" Sakura then stood up straight and turned herself around; wiping at her eyes so nobody would see her tears and began to walk out.

"Sakura…thanks for helping me with the jutsu." Turning around, Pinkie nodded, smiling slightly. Maho smiled slightly back as she turned around to face Naruto, with both her hands on holding up her head.

"Ugh, Naruto help me! I think the exams have done something to my brain; confusing it and making me be nice to the people I hate!" Turning to the wall, the orange haired girl began slamming her head against the wall and Naruto laughed at her.

"Well I'm going to go out and…uh…get some fresh-air." Naruto said smirking. Maho immediately recognized the face and she knew he was planning something.

Holding her hands up in a manner of defeat, Maho shook her head, "Whatever you're planning, I don't want to know. If you get any money out of it we're splitting it 50/50!"

"No way, Maho!" Naruto yelled, and then ran out the door full speed until he was out of sight. Maho looked out the window, though realizing she was still the only one in the class-room, and saw Naruto run up to Sakura. She briefly heard their conversation and laughed. "Hey Sakura, now we're on the same team, let's eat lunch together!"

"Why do we have to eat together?" She said in a very annoyed tone. Maho's eye twitched, _Okay, that's the last time I'm nice to her. Why the hell is she such a bitch to Naruto? He _just_ helped her after Uchiha was such an epic ass!_ Naruto replied shyly after that.

"Well we're in the same team so…"

"You're annoying," She glared at the boy in front of her, leaving him speechless as she stomped past him. And then she had the nerve to start calling for a certain emo. "Sasuke, where are you?" Maho rolled her eyes and made her way out of the classroom. To her surprise, Naruto was already gone when she'd gotten there, so she walked along the stone path bored, listening to the birds chirping and the wind blowing through the leaves on the lush, green trees. There was nothing better to do for lunch, seeing as she didn't want to eat because she was still full from breakfast and her team mates were idiotic morons who didn't know the meaning of cooperation; however, she stopped when she heard voices and hid behind one of the huge tree trunks. Peeking out from behind her shelter, she saw Sakura on a bench with a half-eaten lunch beside her and Sasuke walking over to her.

"You have a charming, wide fore-head," She saw Sakura sit up with wide-eyes as he said this. Continuing to watch as the conversation continued, for her this was just _too weird. _"It makes me want to kiss it." Maho choked and had to throw both of her hands over mouth and hold her breath to stop herself from having a laughing fit. _What. The. Fuck?_ A tear rolled down Maho's tan cheek and she stayed completely still until Sasuke turned his head back to Sakura. "Not. Only Naruto would say something like that." Maho finally managed to control her breath intake and began to breath properly, her laughing having ceased so she could watch calmly once again. _And Sasuke would? This is…just so not right. _She then watched as Sasuke took a seat next to Sakura, asking her what she thought about Naruto.

"He's become accustomed to interfering with my love. He enjoys getting in my way; Naruto knows nothing about me. He's just annoying. I only want you to accept me, Sasuke." Sakura explained, hanging her head, casting a shadow over her eyes.

"Just for me to accept you?" Sasuke replied with a surprised look; one that looked almost…identical to Naruto's?

"I'll do anything…" A large blush appeared on Sakura's cheeks as she began to lean forward, going in for a kiss. Maho rolled her eyes at the scene, _Wow, she doesn't learn, does she? That's what I call a major obsession!_

"I'm desperate!" She said with her lips still puckered, Sasuke could only sit there with wide eyes, staring at the pinkette. _Yes Sakura, we can all__ tell you're desperate. You _really _don't have to tell him! _Maho thought, still comfortable in her place behind the tree. She saw a blush on Sasuke's cheeks and instantly knew something was wrong. If Maho knew anything about Sasuke Uchiha, it was one thing: he did _not_ blush!


	7. Three People's Solitude and Rai

_Three People's Solitude and 'Rai'_

Maho suddenly saw Sasuke flinch wildly and grab his stomach, she heard a terrible rumble come from it but obviously Sakura had been too engrossed in her kiss to notice it. She then watched with amusement as he stood up; still holding his stomach and ran down the path the opposite way, Sakura's eyes widened in confusion as she watched him do this, as did Maho's.

"What's wrong?"

"I'll be right back!" He shouted as he waved to her and went out of sight, Maho stayed hidden behind her tree, this moment sparking her interest and decided to get a better look.

When Sakura had her eyes closed and was obviously thinking, Maho came out of the tree she was hiding behind on the opposite side of the road and jumped up to a higher one just above the bench, sitting herself on a branch, feet dangling just above Sakura's head and closed her eyes sitting back and waited for Sasuke to come back so she could finish watching this rather interesting scene. Was the Uchiha even going to come back? If Maho had been him, she sure as hell wouldn't be returning. _I wonder what Naruto is doing. Maybe he's eating by himself after being rudely rejected by Sakura…_ She thought about random things as her legs swung forward and back. She boredly watched Sakura move her feet back and forth, the blush not leaving her face, and they both looked up the path immediately when they heard footsteps. _Surprise, surprise, it is Uchiha. I honestly didn't expect him to come back. Pfft, look at him walking like he owns the place! Ugh he's so annoying! So much for talking some sense into him; it'd probably be too much to expect him to apologize. _Sakura stood up and looked expectantly at Sasuke, smiling excitedly, although he just seemed to ignore her and keep on walking. "Sasuke, you're such a shy boy! Are you emotionally prepared because I am?" Sakura shouted with her arms in the air. Maho looked down at Sakura with a wierded-out expression, wondering if she was even in her right mind. _Seriously, who the hell says that? To Sasuke of all people no less._ Wierder yet, Sasuke just continued walking on. What was going on? Sasuke had to be just as confused as her; who wouldn't be?

"W…wait, Sasuke…" He then stopped and turned around. Simply just staring at her, he then asked Sakura the same question Maho had been wondering all lunch.

"Where's Naruto?"

Sakura looked surprised for a minute, but placed her hands behind her back, composing herself. "There you go changing the subject again! Forget about Naruto, all he does is pick quarrels with you; it's probably because he had such an irregular childhood. Oh yeah, you know how he doesn't have parents right?" Sakura's words stabbed Maho in the heart worse than any katana, or knife could. Why the hell would Haruno bring something like that up; how was it so easy for those words to draft across Sakura's lips? Sure you could always _talk_ about having no parents, but no one understands the pain more than someone who's actually _lived_ it. This pissed the small red-head off; Sakura had never felt the pain of having no parents; your parents abandoning you or your parents being killed. She had no idea what it was like! Even if she had been little when she had been finally taken from her parents, she still had flashbacks; memories of being completely alone; people surrounding her, but not even glancing in her direction. Maho jumped out of the tree, glaring at Sakura as she quickly leapt onto the dirt trail that served as a street. She didn't care if either of them realized she had been listening in on their conversation, she just wanted to get the hell away from that bitch. Walking past Sakura without even acknowledging her, Maho was simply going to keep her head down, but for some reason, she couldn't help but look up as she neared Sasuke, only to find him glaring too. _That's right; Sasuke lost his whole family too. What an insensitive bitch Sakura is. _"He's always doing childish things; my parents would scold me if I did such things, but if you're alone your parents won't get mad at you. That's why he's so selfish; he can just do whatever he wants and get away with it." Sakura finally finished and normally Maho would have simply kept walking, but without her consent, her feet had just stopped walking, her shoulders shaking with repressed rage. She wanted nothing more than to have stabbed her with a kunai right there and then! How could she say all those things without knowing the true meaning behind it all! Sasuke turned to look at Maho as she spun around on her heel and made her way to face Sakura. Unfortunately for the pinkette, she seemed far too absorbed in her 'oh-so wise rant' to even notice the murderous intent seeping from the girl with the orange hair. When Sakura finally opened her eyes and realized she was in front of her, Maho's face had lost any sort of emotion. Without a moment's hesitation, Maho's fist swung out and punched Sakura right in the cheek. Sakura fell with a cry, the sudden action surprising both her and the young Uchiha. He had been about to tell Sakura to shut up and leave him alone, but Maho had just appeared and then… Sasuke was completely speechless, and no one dared move a muscle as Maho stood over Sakura. When the enraged red-head finally did speak, it was only in a harsh whisper.

"Shut the hell up! That solitude…" Maho stopped, biting her lip. She knew what she wanted to say, but she was just so _angry_, the words just wouldn't come out; however Sasuke carried on.

"You can't even _compare_ it to the level of when your parents scold you."

Sakura's sniffling grated Maho's nerves even further, the girl cradling her cheek. Haruno glared at Maho harshly, but ignored her for the most part, her teary jade eyes looking up at Sasuke, bottom lip trembling. "What's the matter?" Sakura asked pathetically.

"You're such an ignorant child. How dare you sit there and snub Naruto as if he's beneath you; AS IF HE'S HAD AN EASY LIFE! You're just like all the other villagers, hating him and casting him aside because of some stupid reason no one remembers about!" Maho was yelling now, her bangs overshadowing her usually perky, bright green eyes; hiding the tears of anger from view. Sasuke and Sakura stared at her in shock, neither of them having expected such raw anger coming from the girl, but the Uchiha became curious; what made her so angry, and why was the topic so touchy?

Finally Sasuke spoke up, "Sakura, you're annoying." Then he turned around and walked off, his words obviously hurting her as she stood in shocked silence, not moving. Maho far from cared, though; in fact, she couldn't help but smile cruelly at the pinkette's pain. Then without a word, turned on her heel and went the opposite direction from Sasuke.

Though, it seemed Sakura finally decided to acknowledge the red-head, she couldn't have cared less; she didn't want anything to do with her, or anyone else who was that shallow and selfish. "Maho, where are you going?" She asked unsurely, scared that the girl would snap and attack her again, but she was desperate; she didn't want to be alone.

"To find where Naruto ran off to holding his stomach."

The words were spoken so coldly and devoid of any emotion that Sakura shivered slightly. "B…but that was, Sasuke…"

"Really Sakura, was it really? Because I think you're mistaken there. Would Sasuke think twice about kissing you when he just refused before lunch? Naruto's in love with you –though Kami knows why- it's very obvious, and you just plainly ignored and rejected him so rudely, you reduced him to silence. The least you could've done was sat and eaten lunch with him, Sakura…Instead of trampling on his heart to go and find your precious 'Sasuke'…Ja ne." Maho hadn't even turned around to face her, just continuing on her walk. Then walking off up the road, she went to try and find her colorful shinobi friend. Sakura was left thinking on the bench and sort of began to understand Naruto, Sasuke's and Maho's situation.

"I'm annoying huh? So this must be how Naruto and Maho feel. Maybe I can be nice starting now to them now…Especially if Naruto likes me…" The girl's throbbing cheek suddenly made her wince and she gingerly brought her fingers up to touch her swollen cheek. "No, not Maho; she's so cruel! She just attacked me!"

"Damn it. Did I eat something weird?" Sakura turned, surprised to hear a new voice, to find Naruto walking towards her, hand grasping his stomach. Her eye began to twitch, _Smile; be nice! _She reminded herself. Then suddenly she stood up and smiled, waving to Naruto.

"Hey Naruto, let's go back to class together, ne?"

"Sakura?" Naruto asked in confusion. Thinking it was Sasuke trying to trick him, he went to perform the Shadow Clone jutsu, his stomach rumbled again, therefore he ran straight back to the bathroom. Sakura got annoyed thinking he didn't want to walk with her and shook her fist. In the end she sighed and made her way back to class by herself.

**X~X~X**

"That damn Naruto, where'd he get to in such a short period of time?" Maho grumbled to herself as she looked through all the doors and shortcuts of the school grounds. She looked up to a roof and saw Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji sitting there eating lunch. She cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted as loud as she could. "Oi, Shikamaru, Chouji! Have you seen Naruto around? I wanted to walk back to class with him so we can meet our new sensei."

"Tied up in that room probably." Ino answered nonchalantly with a smirk on her face and a wave of her hand.

Twitching, Maho stuttered. "N-nani?"

"Naruto saw Sasuke in that room and jumped in to fight with him. Sasuke obviously beat him as he's the one that walked out, looking as hot as always. So that means Naruto is still in there right? Man, you're so dumb…" Ino explained, sighing as if she was bored of the conversation. Maho smirked and laughed slightly at Ino, who'd thought she knew about everything about the situation _And she had the nerve to call me dumb?_

"Hate to break it you Ino, but Naruto was the one who won that fight. He transformed into Sasuke and left the real one tied up in there. Naruto, who was transformed as Sasuke, has been talking to Sakura this whole lunch time. You mean to tell me you didn't even notice a second Sasuke jump out of that window, idiot?" Blondie stood with a shocked face and must've realized she _had_ seen a second Sasuke come out of the room but she'd been too dumb to notice. "And if I may say Ino, you said 'Sasuke' came out the room looking 'hot'. I'm sure Naruto will be _plenty_ pleased to her that since it _was _him~ Later!" Ino opened her mouth making pathetic, little syllables, speechless and not able to say anything back, as Maho headed to the one place she hadn't tried yet, the bathrooms, cackling all the while she retreated.

"You just got owned by someone who _you_ called dumb, so troublesome!" Shikamaru said lazily as he leaned his head on the railing next to him again, Chouji occasionally sharing his chips with him.

"Oh…get a life Shikamaru!" Ino said, suffering harshly at not being able to give a good come-back, huffing in irritation.

Trying to locate the little blonde turd, Maho couldn't help but to think back onto what had happened with Sakura. _I hate to say it, but maybe I was a little bit harsh on Sakura earlier…I shouldn't have punched her. Heh, if Mom finds out, she'll pummel _me_! It just pisses me off when people talk about having no parents like it is 'no big deal'. I know it's not her fault she's never felt that pain, but she such a whiney little… and, well, she should be happy she's got parents instead of unhappy she has got them. _Maho walked along the wooden floor on the outside of the building where the bathrooms were situated, watching her feet move against the ground; heel, flat, toe, heel, flat, toe, heel, flat toe, over and over, listening to the creak of the floorboards with every step she took. She then stopped and looked back and forth between two doors; one displaying a man, one displaying a man with a dress on, or so she saw it. "Well it _would_ make sense for Naruto to be in the guys' bathroom…Unless he's got an awful secret he's not telling us…" Laughing to herself, Maho sighed and kicked in the door to the boys' bathroom.

She looked down the aisle of sinks and saw nobody standing there, she noticed the stall door was open too, making her sigh and she quickly checked around the corner of the stall, peeking around to survey the urinals. Thankfully nobody was there either. Leaning against the wall, the girl crossed her arms, putting her foot on the wall behind her. _Damn, we've only got a few minutes until class starts; where could Naruto go in such a short space of time? He should be here if he was complaining of stomach ache…At least, that's what it looked like! _Pushing herself off the side of the wall, she turned around to leave, but she stopped as she caught her reflection in the mirror. _I guess I don't really look at myself like this often, I mean who would want to? Bright orange hair, stupid, plain green eyes, stupid light-tanned skin that looks really un-even…Why can't I just look like all the other girls with brown eyes and brown, blonde or black hair? Sakura being an exception of course with pink hair… _She sighed heavily as she tightened her pony-tail and ran her fingers through her bangs and the loose hair that fell around her face. Her hair, despite its color, was so weird. It didn't have that nice, smooth texture like every other girl's. No, of course she had to have an excess amount of frizz. At least around her face it wasn't so bad… Groaning in distaste, Maho shook her head and turned to leave; however, Maho froze when she heard the door open; jumping into the single bathroom stall without any thought. _Shit, shit, shit! __Now how in the hell am I going to get out of here? I seriously hope this guy doesn't take too long! Why did I have to be a girl in the boys bathroom?…Wait a second… _Maho smirked, realizing she had a way out of this, and quickly disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Transformation Jutsu." She whispered, just as the water faucet turned on. As the smoke cleared, Maho hoped the other guy hadn't noticed her jutsu, and she hoped her transformation was actually believable, but there wasn't much to debate over; she had to get to class. With a tap of her foot, the toilet flushed –had to make it seem like she had actually gone to the bathroom- and she unlocked the stall and began to wash her hands. Looking up at the mirror, she had to hide her smile at the success of her jutsu; in her mind she had created a picture of a random guy, but she now looked exactly like the boy she was imagining. _If I were the real me, I'd totally date me. Guess it's because I imagined him, but still! Hmm, he's kinda got Kiba's hairstyle in black with side-ways bangs…Naruto's eyes…Shikamaru's lazy look and Chouji's smile… I hope this doesn't mean I like all my friends…Awkward…_ Shaking her head, her eyes wandered over to the guy who had made her transform and she was surprised to see it was Uchiha; his hands rested at the side of the sink while his head hung over the basin, the water flowing from the spout. Maho's now blue eyes softened at the sight; he looked really stressed…Was he okay? Shaking her head, she shut off the water and began drying her hands with the paper towel to stop herself from thinking further about it and she turned her attention back to the mirror and looked at her outfit. She was wearing a fish-net vest with a white, collared, v-neck shirt over the top and knee length, blue ninja trousers with the classic blue Konoha sandals. Her eyes, once again –god, why did she always have to look over at him?- wandered over to his figure, which was now running his hands under the water. However she smirked when she had a thought, but quickly put on a face of calm perfecture as he looked at her. _Haha, okay, maybe this isn't such a bad turn of events. I think I'm going to have some fun with this. Now…how do boys greet each other….Don't they spit or something?_

"Hey." Maho said in her newly improved, gruff voice and was happy with how it came out. Sasuke simply looked over and nodded to show he heard.

"Hey…" He then turned his head to the basin he was stood in front of and began splashing his face with the water.

"Something bugging you, or did you just forget to shower this morning?" She said in a sarcastic voice, she was happy she was still able to wind him up, even as a completely different person.

"None of your business." Uchiha snapped with a glare as he went back to wetting his face.

"Right, right sorry." Finally Sasuke stopped and dried his face off, and then he turned to Maho, making her gulp nervously at the way he stared at her.

"I've never seen you in the academy before; who are you and why are you here?" He asked in a not-so-nice tone, getting into a position with his feet shoulder-width apart, glaring slightly. Pfft, figures. This shouldn't be surprising from Uchiha Sasuke. Maho put her hands up next to each side of her head with an amused smile on her face.

"Chill dude, I'm just here travelling through Konoha."

Blue boy didn't back down; however he did relax his posture slightly, pocketing his hands. "Right…then how did you get into the academy grounds?"

"I'm training to be a doctor, and me and my sensei travel around, getting supplies from villages. My sensei got caught talking to one of your academy sensei's, I told them I needed the bathroom and they let me in here." She said with a shrug, surprising herself at how well she thought that story up, and also a little scared that she could lie that easily and that well. She had never really known she could improvise so well! Sasuke nodded, showing he believed it and he lost the aggressiveness. Maho did the same and dropped her arms down to her side, leaning her shoulder against the wall. It was silent then, until Sasuke spoke again.

"What's your name?"

_A__h, shit, I didn't think of a name at all! _"Rai." She said, simply and calmly, smiling to herself for thinking on the spot.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

"I care?" Maho said in a bored tone and looked away from Sasuke and around the bathroom, although in the inside she was jumping around and screaming at the statement she just made. Frak yeah! C_halk one up for Igashowa! Uchiha Sasuke is going down!'_

"Hn," Was Sasuke's 'intelligent' reply and Maho simply crossed her arms.

"Hey, don't you have class? Can I come with you and see the school? Once my sensei starts talking he won't stop, and I want to see all the big buildings of Konoha before I move on anyway." The disguised girl proposed, smirking at Sasuke who looked like he couldn't make his mind up.

Sasuke frowned, thinking to himself. _If I hang around with this guy maybe the attention will be off me and girls will go after him….Maybe he can keep Maho from bugging me too, since they pretty much both act the same. _Oh, if only Sasuke knew. He finally nodded his head and made his way out the bathroom and surprise, surprise, Sasuke was right; as soon as they were near the academy again, girls' heads slowly turned to the pair. It was to Sasuke's delight that eyes were off him and on Rai for once; however when he looked at Rai, expecting him to be loving the attention, he was surprised to see he wasn't paying attention to any of the girls, or any boys in fact; he was just looking up at the sky watching the birds and surveying the buildings around him as they walked. "You know, the way you look and act reminds me of some people." Sasuke said to Rai, not having realized his thoughts were spoken out loud. The Uchiha noticed shock plaster itself onto the others boys face and watched as he turned to Sasuke.

"W-what?"

"You look and act like some people I know…" Sasuke repeated again, annoyed at having to say the same thing twice.

"Oh and uh…who would that be?" He noticed his voice got a little shaky and small beads of sweat appeared on his face.

"Well you have a mixture of features from some of the guys in my class and you kind of act like this girl I know…" Rai calm down and the sweat disappeared, a smirk replacing his nervous shock and he looked back up to watch the birds again.

"What girl would that be?"

"Igashowa Maho; we've hated each other since we first met, but we were put onto the same team today. She's different than other girls since she doesn't follow me around all the time and isn't obsessed with me. She actually acts just like you; sarcastic and care-free and then happy and funny at the same time." Maho was slightly shocked as Sasuke answered; all she was expecting was for him to say her name, but he went on and Maho wasn't prepared for that answer.

"Isn't that a good thing then? If she doesn't follow you round and isn't obsessed with you and…hating each other I mean?"

"I guess… I just sometimes wish that-" Sasuke didn't finish his sentence out loud, although it was finished in a instant in his head _I just sometimes wish that we could get on for once. It's like she's got an invisible touch; we're never together, but I can't stop thinking about her. I hate how she does that, it gets so annoying. Maybe now we're on the same team, I'll be with her all the time, that way I won't have to think about her._ As he finished the internal thought, a picture of a laughing Maho popped into his head. Glaring harshly at nothing in particular, he received strange stares from Rai.

"You sometimes wish what, Uchiha?"

"Nothing, just that she should stop being so annoying." Now they were just outside the academy gates and were ready to go back in. "I have to go in on my own now; my new team and I are meeting my new sensei."

"Oh right." Maho mumbled, unsure of how she would get to change back into herself and get back to class in time.

"I haven't seen Maho on my way back; I wouldn't be surprised if that ditz got lost or forgot she had to come back." Sasuke smirked, though was confused as he noticed Rai begin to glare at him. Then he had a look of complete shock as Rai burst into a puff of smoke and as it cleared Maho was in his place.

"Who are you calling a ditz, Sasgay!" Maho yelled, fuming as she pointed and glared at him.

Sasuke blinked in surprise; not just at the fact that Rai had been Maho, but that he hadn't realized it was her earlier. Recomposing himself, he gave his trademark smirk, "Wow you really are a ditz if you didn't hear the first time; I said _you_ were a ditz and you've just proved that without any effort on my part." Turning around, he began to walk into the building. The Uchiha wasn't surprised when he heard running footsteps and a screaming red-head behind him.

"Just because I didn't get top scores on my test doesn't mean I'm not smart! I hardly believe you have the right to call me that when you are the one who believed in 'Rai' for a whole 15 minutes!" Sasuke stopped walking and turned around, scowling at Maho, who stopped suddenly as she was right behind Sasuke and didn't expect him to turn around. Neither of the two noticed the audience they had gathered and were looking out the window; all of the girls practically threatening to jump out the window to pull Maho away from Sasuke.

"That was a dirty trick by the way…." Sasuke had heard one of the girls shout 'Igashowa Maho, if you get one inch closer to Sasuke I'll break your legs for you!' So he took one step closer to Maho; earning more screams from the girls. To his surprise, she didn't move back; she just crossed her arms and smirked back, glaring at Sasuke.

"I wouldn't call it 'dirty' exactly. You're just angry because you didn't figure out my little prank!" She said slyly as she tilted her head to the left pouting.

_She looks kind of cute when she pouts like that…_Scowling and shaking his head, he gritted his teeth. "I am not; this argument's over, Maho; we need to go or we're going to be late meeting our new sensei." He put his hand out to grab her wrist, considering dragging her to the classroom, but he realized what he was doing and quickly put both his hands in his pocket.

"Fine, whatever, it's not like I'm looking forward to being on the same team with you either Uchiha!" _I'm such a liar._ She unconsciously contradicted in the back of her head. _Wait, what?_ Maho scrunched up her face in a confused manner and wondered where and why that thought had come from; however, now wasn't really the right time to try and figure it out, so she shrugged and followed Sasuke into the building.


	8. Kakashi Sensei and Sasuke's Insult

_Kakashi Sensei and Sasuke's Insult_

"Where the heck is Sasuke?" Sakura asked as she sat semi-patiently at a desk, her chin resting on her fist, her other hand tapping her fingers on the table in an impatient manner.

"Where did Maho go off to, I wonder." Naruto said, almost asking the same question except he was pacing up and down the wooden floor. As if right on cue Sasuke entered with the red-head following shortly after.

"Where have you two been?" Naruto and Sakura asked at the same time, causing Maho to raise a questioning eyebrow while the Uchiha continued to ignore them and took a seat in the second row of desks.

"Geez, am I not allowed a little walk? And Naruto, I'll have you know, I've been looking for you for the past 20 minutes!" She replied, her green eyes narrowing into slits as she glared at the blonde boy, her hands resting on her hips.

Scratching at the back of his neck sheepishly, Naruto let out a nervous laugh, his eyes closing in a squint. "Oh…haha, my bad …" Naruto replied, grinning guiltily. Not being able to stay mad at one of her good friends, Maho stepped in front of him and simply ruffled his hair, then went to sit on the desk top behind him.

"Nice trick you pulled on Sakura, by the way. That was hilarious!" Maho added to Naruto, turning with a wink, and giving him a high-five, she laughed. Naruto, having been caught, turned red in the face and grumbled about how he wasn't trying to _trick_ her, he simply just wanted to spend some time with her. This only made Maho laugh even more. Meanwhile, Sakura watched her obsession with a blush on her face, subtly moving from the end of the first row of desks so she was sitting right in front of Sasuke's line of vision. Maho noticed her moving up to him slightly every minute until she was next to him, making her sweat drop at the creepiness of the situation Sakura was putting herself in. After everything the pinkette had learned and gone through, you'd think she'd realize giving Sasuke his space would give her more positive results than pushing herself on him. Turning and looking out the window, Maho rested her chin on her palm and traced the tip of her finger over the surface of the desk. "When is this supposed new sensei going to appear anyway?"

"We don't know! He's been making us wait for ages! We should teach him a lesson!" The blonde prankster exclaimed, a mischievous grin on his whiskered face.

"Ne, Naruto? That's not a bad idea. What're you thinking of?" The ginger said with a smirk, drumming her fingers against the desk and bouncing her foot. The Uzumaki gave his signature fox-like grin as he spun around and grabbed an eraser from the chalkboard. Raising a questioning eyebrow, her green eyes followed the orange-clad boy as he grabbed a chair and pushed it over to the door, crawling up onto it and stretching to put the eraser between the door and the threshold. The eraser was now lodged into the door so that whoever opened it next would get a whole lot of chalk eraser to the head.

"Haha, nice Naruto. This is going to be hilarious!" Maho snickered, running her fingers through her hair and smiling.

"Idiots, you're both so immature. A high-skilled jounin isn't going to fall for a lame trick like that." Sasuke grunted from his seat as he watched Naruto run back to his seat laughing like an idiot while Maho encouraged him with her own snickering.

"Yeah! Sasuke is obviously right. Nobody as smart and clever as a jounin is going to fall for that!" Sakura stood up, basically repeating exactly what Sasuke had said. The Uchiha noticed Maho roll her eyes at Sakura, and he couldn't help but smirk. Everyone was quiet as they heard foot-steps finally approach the door. Naruto and Maho had to cover their mouths with their hands to stop them from laughing as a hand finally reached to the door to slide it open. It seemed to go in slow motion from then on as a gloved hand appeared through the door as the gap between the door and the eraser was increased and it began to fall just as a cheery face, covered by a mask, made itself visible through the door. Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Maho's eyes widened as the object fell closer to their new sensei's head. The sound of the hit was muted; the only sound being heard was a 'plop' as the eraser hit this strange man's head. It was completely quiet as the kids stood in shock. That was instantly broken, however, as Maho and Naruto couldn't muffle their laughter any longer.

"Whoa…I….didn't think he'd actually fall…fall for it!" The ginger managed to sputter out between breaths as she held her stomach with one hand, and tried to keep her balance on the desk. All the while Naruto was pointing and laughing at Kakashi obnoxiously.

"I'm _so_sorry sensei! I told them you wouldn't fall for it, and it was a stupid idea, but they wouldn't stop! I'd never do anything like that!" Sakura quickly blurted out an apology, causing Naruto and Maho to turn and glare at her, almost as if they were thinking the same thing. _That's right Sakura; just make sure you don't get into trouble!_ Sasuke was also taken by surprise, but for a different reason aside from Sakura; he couldn't believe his eyes. How could a jounin falling for such an idiotic trick? The man, however, stepped forward and picked up the eraser and put his hand to his chin, striking a pondering pose.

"Now…how can I say this? My first impression of you is…you're all a bunch of idiots." The genins' faces dropped in disbelief, a sweat-drop making its way down the sides of their heads. Maho, however, didn't appreciate his comment, her lips curved into a frown; however, she'd have to deal with it because he had now suggested going onto the roof of the building for a 'talk'.

"Fine whatever…" She muttered under her breath as she crossed her arms and waited for her other three team members to file out the class-room so she could be at the back. _Great a Sasuke obsessed Sakura, Uchiha himself, a loved-up Naruto, and a weirdo sensei who wears a mask…I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm the only normal one of this group…_ Putting a hand to her head, she shook it as she smiled to herself. Despite her reservations of the situation, she couldn't help but be amused. _I'm going to have so much fun being a ninja!_

"Okay, so introduce yourselves one at a time." Kakashi said looking actually really bored as he spoke to the three kids sat in front of him. His body posture was relaxed as he hopped up onto the railing –which had a two story drop behind him- and crouched down and he expertly balanced himself. Maho would have been rather impressed if she didn't think he was doing it to show off.

"Introduce ourselves? What should we say?" Sakura said in a confused and slightly surprised voice. The red-head raised a discreet eyebrow at the girl. If she was smart as she boasted, how did she not comprehend his request?

"That's what he just said, right? Baka…" Maho mumbled to herself, turning sideways towards Naruto and beginning to poke at the boy's shoulder. Then when he turned around she'd look away and turn away, one arm crossed across her thigh, the other rested her chin in her palm. It was completely obvious that Maho was poking him, but she pretended to be completely clueless none-the-less, and every time tried to catch the culprit, he wouldn't connect two-and-two together. His cluelessness of the entire situation made her giggle slightly, though she tried to hide it by biting down on her lip.

"What are we supposed to say?" Sakura said, continuing her previous statement. Every one of them watched as their new sensei shrugged nonchalantly.

"What you like; hate; dreams and hobbies, something like that."

"Hey, hey, why don't you introduce yourself first Sensei?" Naruto said, for once actually doing something of the intellectual kind.

"Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. I like a lot of things. For my dreams… I never really thought about it. As for hobbies… I have lots of hobbies."

"Huh?" Maho, Sakura and Naruto all said at the same time, catching all four of them by surprise, though Sasuke would never show it. Maho even stopped poking Naruto to looked up to the man in confusion.

"So all we found out was his name…" Sakura whispered to the only two teammates who actually acknowledged the pinkette's presence. Actually it was more so directed at Sasuke, but those two nodded response anyways.

"Now it's your turn, you first." Kakashi said referring to Naruto, who sat up looking really happy at being chosen first, adjusting the hitai-ate on his head and grinning like a fool.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, but I like the ramen at Ichiraku that Iruka-sensei bought for me even more than the instant ramen. I hate the 3 minutes that I have to wait after I pour in the hot water! My hobby is to eat and compare cups of ramen, and my dream is to become greater than the Hokages! I'm going to make all the villagers recognize my existence!" Kakashi's eyes widened slightly, taken slightly aback by the blonde loud statement. _I see he grew up in an interesting way._

"Wahoo, way to go Naruto! Woot woot!" Maho cheered from her seat, smiling at Naruto in encouragement and giving him a pat him on the back when he returned to his seat next to her. He smiled at her in thanks and appreciation.

"Okay next!" Kakashi called out, his gaze landing on Sakura. The ginger crossed her arms, her lips pursed in irritation at the fact that the man had completely ignored her and chosen Sakura _before_ her.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like…I mean the person I like is…" Resisting the urge to bash her head against the ground was barely manageable as she saw Sakura look to Sasuke pathetically, blushing like an idiot, while the whole time Sasuke was unfazed by it. Venting her frustration, Maho got into the same pose Sakura was in and mimed the exact words Sakura had just said and put on the same lovesick face, though it was clear that the red-head's actions were mocking the other girl's. Naruto turned around and laughed at her, causing Sakura to turn her head to the two of them; however, she quickly went back to normal when Sakura looked at her. It was a gift Maho had, being able to get under people's skin and wind them up just the right way, managing to escape detection every single time. From his position off to the side, Sasuke watched everything, wondering as to how the girl knew when to stop her antics as to not get caught. "And my hobby is…well my dream is too…" Sakura said stuttering, once again referring to Sasuke, which she then proceeded to bury her face in her hands and give the typical fan-girl squeal. Maho rolled her eyes and shook her head, making an annoyed grunt and resting her head in her hands. All the while, Kakashi watched her do this. _I'm guessing the other girl isn't going to be a lot like this one…_Kakashi shuddered at the thought of the attitude this one would obviously give off.

"And what do you hate?" Kakashi said urging her on to get it over and done with, quickly growing tired

"Maho and Naruto!" The Uzumaki's face dropped with wide eyes and disbelief; however, Maho sat there, just resting her head on her hands, smirking.

"I'm honored, Sakura!" Maho said, laughing slightly.

"I guess girls her age are more interested in love than ninja training, apart from you I guess…" Kakashi said quietly enough so none of them heard it, but partly directing it at Maho.

"Last guy." Kakashi said, pointing to Sasuke, which in turn earned shouts from the offended red-head; although Sasuke and Kakashi both seemed to ignore them and continue.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things I hate, and not particularly anything I like." Maho was brought satisfaction as she watched Sakura's face widened in shock, but she just smirked, reveling in the knowledge that she was one of the 'lot of things' he hated. "Also I have an ambition that I have no intention to leave as just a dream…The revival of my clan, and to kill a certain man." Everyone was quiet after Sasuke's little 'speech', even Maho was quieted by his words. She was actually rather surprised that he wanted to actually go out and _kill_ someone, and curious as to whom the lucky person was. That didn't last long, however, as Maho covered her mouth with her hands, trying to hide her laughter. It was unfortunate; the dramatic effect which the Uchiha had delivered his introduction was probably only because that 'someone' he wanted dead had no doubt insulted his ego and hair. That knowledge was enough to send the girl into a bout of snorts and snickers until she could no longer contain herself and simply just erupted into boisterous laughter. Sasuke glared at her, but it didn't silence her one bit. Naruto sat with wide-eyes, wondering if Sasuke meant he was the person he was going to kill whilst Sakura was admiring him and his stupid speech.

"'Also I have an ambition that I have no intention to leave as just a dream…The revival of my clan, and to kill a certain someone'. Oh _please_ Uchiha, what did this guy do? Steal your cookie and make a crack at your mother? I think you love yourself more than all your fan-girls put together!" Maho mocked, still trying to recover from her bout of laughter.

"Haha Maho, you sounded just like Sasuke!" Naruto said laughing –in a rather obnoxious way- while Sasuke just glared at her. She simply ignored the sour glare as she smiled at Naruto's laugh.

"So, girl-who's-very-annoying-but-not-possibly-as-annoying-as-this-kid-Naruto, want to go last?" Kakashi said in a sarcastic way.

"Sure, I'm Igashowa Maho. I like all my friends, and my adopted mother, and my life, and annoying the hell out of Uchiha and his fan-girls. I _hate_Uchiha and people who can't do shit for themselves and rely on others to do it for them. My hobbies are pranking Uchiha and his fan-girls, and hanging out with my friends. My dream is too…" Maho paused for a moment, actually taking this question seriously before giving a response, "be the best ninja I can be, and help my friends along the way. That may change though…I haven't quite decided yet…"

Kakashi was actually surprised at the serious response he was given. From the reports he had read from her teachers, she was loud, sarcastic, and a brash person; never taking anything seriously. He kept his composure however, and spoke in a wistful manner. "So basically you dislike Sasuke or anything to do with him, and you just like sticking with your friends and helping them?" Kakashi said to confirm, smiling under his mask as Maho nodded. "So I'm guessing you're obsessed with Sasuke for the opposite reasons then." He said out-loud, squinting his eyes as if he were smiling, but the action came across as if he was poking at her –which he was.

It didn't really bother her, what he said, simply shrugging it off nonchalantly, "I wouldn't call it an obsession…I'd go more with the word hobby." She smirked, causing Kakashi's eyebrow to tick in annoyance.

"What makes you say that?" Receiving only a shrug in response, though the unsettling grin she gave him made him believe he didn't want to know the answer, Kakashi then turned his head to acknowledge all of his students. "Alright, you four all have unique personalities. I like that. We're going to begin a mission starting tomorrow." Maho turned her head to Naruto as she watched him immediately perk up and…_salute_their new sensei?

"What kind of mission is that, sir?" Shaking her head in dismay, the ginger leaned closer to Naruto and pulled his hand from his salute.

"You know Naruto, you don't have to _salute_Kakashi-sensei or…call him _sir_." She pointed out, trying to refrain from dead-panning.

"But Maho! I want to, it's fun!" He exclaimed, beaming from ear-to-ear while his hand struggled to pop back up into place.

"Fine, knock yourself out!" She rolled her eyes and stopped resisting Naruto's hand, causing Naruto to whack himself in the face with his own hand, earning a small snicker from Sasuke. Of course, with Maho thinking he was making fun of her, she wasn't too please; although she wouldn't cause a scene about it now, otherwise she would miss out on the details of their mission. She could easily pay him back for that another time, even if it was a misunderstanding.

"First, we're going to do something that the five of us can do together."

"What, what, what, what is it?" Naruto said from his place on the step, bouncing in place and sounding a little too excited. Laughing at Naruto's never-ending boisterous attitude, Maho settled down and placed her chin on her hand, re-facing her sensei.

"Survival training."

"Survival training?" Naruto and Sakura echoed his sentence, but directed it as a question of confusion. What was it with these guys and repeating everything Kakashi said in a questioning manner?

"Why are we going to train when it's a mission? We had plenty of training at the academy!" Sakura said, unsure of what was going on as well.

"This isn't ordinary training,"

"Well how many other kinds of training are there?" Maho pointed out, looking down at her fingernails and picking at the dirt that lingered there.

"What Maho means is, what kind of training is it?" Naruto said, using the ginger to make him look less of an idiot. Maho, however, put on a fake grin, waving her hand in front of her in dismissal.

"I didn't mean that~" She crooned, but the man in front of the team starting to chuckle, his vocalized amusement eventually growing louder until the genin quietly stared at their sensei, questioning his sanity. "Ne, Sensei, you on drugs? What's with the creepy, maniacal laughter?" Maho asked as a tick formed on her forehead.

"Hey, what's so funny Sensei?" Sakura asked a clear annoyance on her face. He then brought his hand up to his face and it looked as if he was smiling under his mask.

"Well, if I say this, I'm sure the four of you are not going to like it~" Naruto and Maho squinted and could only stare at the man who now had his hand resting on his face.

"Out of the twenty-eight graduates, only nine -or ten- are going to become genin due to the odd numbers. The other nineteen –or eighteen- will be sent back to the academy. In other words, this training is going to be a very hard test with a drop-out rate of approximately sixty-six percent." Naruto's mouth dropped to the floor, Maho's head fell and landed on Naruto's shoulder, Sakura's face became dormant, and Sasuke, well he remained the same.

"See? I told you guys you wouldn't like it~" He chimed, the glee he was expressing being a little over the top. Was he really that excited about their failure rates?

"No way! I went through so much trouble…Then what was the final exam for?" Naruto cried, jumping up to his feet and pushing Maho off of him.

"Naruto…I can _finally_say I understand your pain…" Maho said, her words clipped in annoyance. Like her blonde teammate, she had worked hard, she had sacrificed her pride to train and pass that test, and now she was being told that didn't matter and that the real test had yet to come. Yeah, she understood his pain a bit. Standing up and resting a hand on his shoulder, Maho gave it a comforting squeeze before letting go and covering her face with her hands.

"That? It just picks out those who are _maybe_ qualified to become Genin."

"What?" Naruto shouted, clearly very annoyed.

"Anyways, I'm going to determine whether you pass or fail tomorrow at the training grounds. Bring your ninja equipment and meet at five, as in before the sun rises." That instantly grabbed her attention, and Maho immediately stood up, her legs moving of their own accord. She pointed her finger straight at Kakashi, ignoring the fact her mother told her to not point as it was rude, and let out a gasp-like noise. What was _rude_ was being told to wake up before the _sun_ even wakes up!

"Hey _Sensei_, let's get one thing straight here! Just because you're a Jounin, and our new sensei, does not mean you can order us around just yet! Since we're not officially graduated, that means we're not ninja yet. And _that_ means I have no obligation to listen to you! Igashowa Maho does _not_ get up any earlier than eleven thirty, or two on the weekends! I'd _much_rather go back to the academy for a year than wake up at a despicable time like that. Okay, maybe not really, but that's practically still night time!" Whilst Maho was ranting and Kakashi just stared at her like he was basically staring _through_ her with a bored look, her other team members were thinking. _I'm not going to get dropped by a thing like this. I have to make him recognize my abilities for real!_ Naruto had worked too hard to get where he was and wasn't going to lose so easily. Sakura was worried for other reasons_. If I fail this test, I'm going to be separated from Sasuke. This is a trial of love!_ Sasuke, however, could only sit still, although his hands were shaking. Then with her overdramatic flipout now finished, Maho had finally given up and threw herself down onto her back on the ground, this time a within reach of Uchiha. This presented the chance for the girl to occasionally poke Sasuke on different places of his back out of boredom. Kakashi now had his back to them and a hand in the air.

"Thank you for that small outburst. You're quite a fiery red-head aren't you; almost as bad as Naruto. Well now, the meeting is over, so go home, and get some sleep. Oh yeah, and don't eat breakfast. You're going to throw up if you do." All of the group's eyes widened; however, Maho's was for a…_slightly_ different reason, and then they narrowed.

"First you tell me to wake up at fuckin' _five in the morning_, now you tell me I can't even have _breakfast_ because I'm going to _puke_ it up? That may be alright for some girls, but I am one girl who will never forgo food! I _refuse_ to give up my health because of you! Ya got a problem with that, ne _Kakashi-sensei?_"After her rambling, she finally took note of her surroundings and realized that Kakashi had disappeared, and it had probably been just before her speech too, so he didn't even hear it. Scowling, Maho let out a groan before leaning back and resting against the railing, allowing herself to slide down onto the ground. Expending so much energy during her ranting and raving really left the girl tired and in a more quiet and calm mood. Running her fingers through her orange tresses, the ginger let out a slight groan. Kami, that was the last time she ate Ramen for breakfast.

Naruto, seeing the sudden change in his friend, gazed at her in concern and wandered over to see if she was alright while Sakura was staring at Sasuke, who was now _smiling_ at Maho's slinked over form, and not in a harsh or mean way. _Sasuke won't stop staring and smiling at Maho. I bet she's under some sort of bet with him. Although he's probably just smiling because he thinks those two are both idiots. Yeah, that's it!_Sakura smirked evilly, throwing her fist into the air in exclamation. "Hey, Maho!" Naruto stopped poking the ginger, and the ginger stopped smacking Naruto's hands away as she turned her head to the feminine voice. "Nice speech, want me to knit that onto a pillow?" Sakura said with an evil smile. Sasuke turned his head towards the pinkette, surprised at the words that came out from her mouth. He knew she could be mean sometimes, but he'd never actually _witnessed_ it. Atleast, he assumed Sakura was trying to provoke Igashowa, though the insult didn't make enough sense to be harmful. But nonetheless, Sakura had always been sweet and nice, unless it came to Naruto, or she was fighting with Ino over him. And especially Maho's kind of mean. How did her mood change so suddenly?

Sakura's insult –despite the poor set-up- was easily brushed off as Maho smirked and pushed herself up to her feet, wavering for a moment before catching her balance. "Good to know you think my speeches are so inspiring that you'd want to knit it onto a pillow to keep it forever. But I'm surprised, you knit? I thought only elderly women who had no lives knitted? Hmm, now that I look closer, is that a grey hair? Really Sakura, you should leave the insults to the people who can actually dish them out." Maho smirked and folded her arms as she watched Sakura squirm to look for an answer. She finally sighed and stood up, her expression formed into an angry scowl. Then walking to the door, she slammed it behind her. With her victory ensured, Maho turned to rest her elbows against the railing and look out over the city.

"W-W-Wait Sakura, I'll walk home with you! Maybe we could stop at Ichiraku?" Naruto shouted standing up and running after his crush after uncertainly looking from one girl to the other, although he took the more indirect root and jumped straight down from the roof to catch up with the Pinkette. Luckily it wasn't too high and he landed okay, not to mention he had the help of his ninja skills.

"Uh jeeze, being so good at insulting people always brings me down…" The sarcasm was quite clear and Maho shook her head. Jeeze, that girl was unbelievable; trying to get under her skin like that. Sakura should know by now that Maho was the queen of comebacks and insults.

"Hn."

Surprised by the familiar noise, Maho stood up fully and turned around. "Oh, I forgot you were still here, Uchiha…" She had figured the Uchiha had skulked off somewhere, but, alas, apparently he hadn't. Adjusting the headband on her leg and making sure it wouldn't slip off, the ginger decided it was about time she got heading home –like hell she'd miss dinner after this shit-fest of a team meeting- and made her way for the door. Sasuke called out to her as she walked, however, and she stopped and turned around, her raised eyebrow only accentuating the curious expression on her face.

"You were right."

Now that was even _more_ confusing than Sasuke stopping to have a conversation with her! "What, about how my rants are inspirational?"

The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes, pushing himself up to his feet and resting his hands in his pockets. "No, I'm talking about what you said being the right thing."

Of course, Uchiha's cryptic answers continued to only confuse her further, and she looked at the cockatoo-ass with a bewildered expression. "What the hell? It was only me rambling because I'm lazy and I might as well be dead before noon." Maho explained, shrugging her shoulders.

Letting out an irritated sigh at the ginger apparently not getting his point, Sasuke turned towards his red-headed companion. "No, not that part; I was talking about where you said 'I am one girl who will never forgo food and give up my health'." Instantly Maho narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the boy. _You're a very strange boy, Uchiha. Where is this conversation headed? And why do I have a feeling I'm going to want to punch your face more so than usual?_ Although that was not the best thing for her to have been thinking about; in fact she should've already been preparing excuses…or insults.

"…And what about it…?" Maho held her breath, very unsure of what the answer would be, although when she saw him smirk, she knew where this was heading. Fingers curling into a fist, Maho's face grew dark in anticipation to his response. _He better watch what he says!_

"I could tell by the size of you." Maho's expression turned stony and turning around, she re-walked her steps back to the stairs the team had previously been seated on and stood before Sasuke. Unfurling her fingers, the ginger put on an obviously faux-sweet smile, and placed a hand on his shoulder. Sasuke flinched and backed away a little as she did so.

"I am so flattered that you would clearly embarrass yourself like that with such a poor insult just to try and be as cool as me. Sadly, you failed miserably. It's either that, or you're upset because of the fact that you were deprived of a comb as a child, and so, you have had to suffer with that terrible hairstyle, meaning you have to pick fights with other people to make yourself feel better. But let me warn you, if you say that to another girl, they might go on some rash diet and starve themselves, then end up getting so skinny they would have to go to hospital and may even _die_. So please, say it to Sakura and Ino as much and as often as you like." As she spoke, the sweetness melted away, only to be replaced by her usual mischievous grin. Sasuke laughed quietly at the final part of her sentence, having to admit that despite how he was very annoyed at Maho, nobody could give comebacks like she could. He wasn't going to try either, because she would simply top it and they could go on like that all night. It was a wonder how such ridiculous things managed to find their way into the ginger's head. Finally letting go of him, she slugged his shoulder in payback for his fat comment, the punch having more power behind it than she originally thought. The hit actually made the Uchiha wince, though he tried his best to hide it. The reaction went by unnoticed to the oblivious red-head, but she smiled none-the-less and made a face of satisfaction as she jumped up the few steps and ran all the way to the door, slamming it behind her and leaving Sasuke the only one remaining on the roof.

He wiped at his mouth and straightened his sleeve out again, getting a whiff of Maho's scent as the wind stirred around him. Like how Sakura smelled like her namesake and Naruto like ramen, Maho's scent was unique to her; something like clean cut grass and a sandy beach. Then he stopped thinking about it as he realized he shouldn't be thinking of such stupid things. Letting out a scoff to no one in particular, he stood up, jumping off the opposite side of the building Naruto jumped from, and onto an opposite roof. A flash of orange from the corner of his eye grabbed his attention and Sasuke managed to catch the sight of Maho Maho just turning around a corner. _That girl…_

Naruto, Maho, Sakura and Sasuke all made their way home for an earned nights rest. They would have one of the biggest tests of their lives the following day and one thing for sure, they had to be ready.


End file.
